


Preemptive Strike

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Acts of Kindness, Alive Aiden & Allison Argent, Alive Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes, Allison Argent & Isaac Lahey Friendship, Allison Argent & Lydia Martin Friendship, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Awkwardness, Baked Goods, Bechdel Test Pass, Born Werewolf Liam Dunbar, Canon Character of Color, Canon Gay Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Character, Erica Reyes Bakes, Euthanasia, Families of Choice, Flashbacks, Holding Hands, Interracial Relationship, Interspecies Friendship, Interspecies Romance, Kidnapping, Late Night Conversations, Liam Dunbar & Mason Hewitt Friendship, Literal Sleeping Together, Love, Manipulative Theo Raeken, Morally Ambiguous Character, Mystery Character(s), Non-Alpha Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), POV Multiple, Past Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Sharing a Bed, Vernon Boyd & Erica Reyes Return to Beacon Hills, Vernon Boyd & Isaac Lahey & Erica Reyes Friendship, Warning: Gerard Argent, Werecoywolf Theo Raeken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 08:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 30,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: Warning: Contains euthanasia. AU. As relationships are formed, developed, and renewed, manipulations are applied to almost all. Complete.





	Preemptive Strike

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

Knowing no one will be near the boy’s locker room this time of day, Erica slips inside, finds a corner to sit in, and cries.

When the tears stop coming, she leans against the wall and focuses on her breathing. Alpha, beta, omega, she repeats. I’m an omega, but soon, I’ll be an alpha. An omega or beta can rise, an alpha or beta can fall, but there’s nothing left for an omega but to rise.

Carefully standing, she goes over to the sinks, washes her face, reapplies her makeup, and takes a few more steadying breaths.

…

In the tunnels, Tracy lies on an airbed and murmurs, “I’m not adapting.”

On the floor beside her, Theo plays with her hair. “You are. It’s been twenty minutes, and already, you can almost talk at normal volume. Your venom is powerful, but it’s not more powerful than you.”

Corey comes in. “Hey. Can I borrow twenty dollars?”

“My card’s in my purse,” Tracy half-whispers. “Pin number is my birthday.”

“Was,” Theo firmly interjects. “As soon as you get up, we’re going online and changing that. What do you need twenty dollars for, Corey?”

Bouncing slightly from foot-to-foot, Corey looks down.

“Alright,” is Theo’s easy reply. Standing up, he withdraws his wallet. “Here. If this is about Mason, you really shouldn’t be buying him anything until he becomes your boyfriend. Has he?”

“No, I’m still working on that.” Corey briefly glances up. “Thank you.”

Theo clasps his shoulder before going back to Tracy.

…

Erica pauses when she sees an envelope taped to her locker reading: For Erica.

Cautiously, she opens it.

Inside is a twenty-dollar gift card for the newest big online music store.

Trying not to smile too much, she glances around. As much as she’d like for it to be Boyd leaving her a present, she knows it isn’t. He’d give her an SD card mixtape.

He’s never going to make me another one, she realises with a pang.

She wonders if there’s other Ericas in the school and if someone accidentally got the wrong locker. She knows it wasn’t any of the McCall pack, including Isaac. If Isaac wanted to give her a present, he’d leave it inside the locker.

Despite her curiosity and vague fear this might be a trap of some sort, she can’t help but feel happy someone might have genuinely wanted to do something nice for her.

…

In the school library, Mason looks up from his book, glances around, and reaches out. When his hand curls around Corey’s, Corey appears.

“How’d you know?”

Mason knows, if werecreatures concentrate, they’re likely able to smell Corey and hear his heartbeat. He knows the other chimeras might be able to sense Corey’s presence due to a pack bond (though, since Derek Hale is taking his sweet time in emailing him back about pack dynamics and what all they entail, he can’t be sure).

What Mason doesn’t know is how to verbalise an answer, because, he isn’t sure how, ‘I always know’ would be taken, and also, it doesn’t provide a fully comprehensive answer.

After he’s gotten to know Corey, there are times he’ll get this feeling, and when he looks around the room and his eyes land on a certain spot, he’ll see the lighting is a little off, and he’ll just know why.

Pulling Corey down into a nearby chair, he opts for, “You need to be more careful about going around invisible in public. What if you suddenly turn visible in a room with other people?”

“I doubt they’d even notice.”

Trying not to frown, Mason wishes he could find a book on dealing with self-esteem issues in supernatural teenagers (Derek had been even more curt than normal in telling him, no, there absolutely were no such books outside of fiction). Corey’s  dismissively blunt way of making it clear he believes he truly is invisible as a person to others and the too-causal way he sometimes puts himself down _hurts_ , and what hurts even more is Mason’s inability to find a response that might actually change these things.

“Anyway,” Corey continues, “if my boyfriend didn’t do things like grab me in the middle of the school library, there wouldn’t be as big of a risk.”

“I’m not your boyfriend.”

He really thinks he should be, though.

If there’s one thing everyone, Scott and his mother, Stiles and his dad, Derek, Deaton, Lydia, Allison and her father, Kira and her mother, the alpha twins, Isaac, and even, despite his desperate hope Hayden will move back, Liam agree on, it’s: the chimeras could turn out to be a big danger to the town than previously imagined. The only one who disagrees is Theo, a chimera himself, and whether he’s trustworthy hasn’t reached a clear consensus.

Knowing all this doesn’t stop the fact his desire to sneak Corey into his room and just sleep beside him is so strong. Eventually, he’d like to do a whole lot more than just kissing and literal sleeping, but- Corey loves old black-and-white movies, he sucks at lacrosse but is so endearing to watch during practice, he’s kind, he’s funny, he refuses to eat graham crackers for some inexplicable reason. He’s the sort of boyfriend Mason has wanted since age six, and he’s the boyfriend Mason resigned himself to likely never finding when he was twelve.

To his disappointment, instead of pushing the subject, Corey simply shrugs. “Are you busy tonight? I have to take a double-shift at the nursing home on Saturday night.”

Thinking of Corey’s boss, he asks, “Is everything okay with the baby?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. She’s going to go on bedrest next weekend, and until then, we’re making sure she stays strictly on desk duty. I just need to pay back some money I borrowed for some music.”

Mason can’t help but smile.

For all Corey loves black-and-white movies, he has no use for CDs and might not even recognise a cassette player or tape if they were set in front of him. He definitely has strong and, in Mason’s view, unfair opinions on people who like vinyl, namely that they’re either pretentious posers or just outright weird. Even when Mason explained how, though the legality is questionable in certain places, it’s possible and really easy to rip CDs and DVDs checked out from the library, Corey had been uninterested.

“I’m free tonight. Here.” He grabs his notebook, writes, and carefully tears the page out.

“What’s this?”

“My passwords for different streaming sites. I know it’s not the same as actually having the songs, shows, and movies, but you can listen and watch whenever you want. And if you really like something, maybe you and Liam could work something out.”

Liam doesn’t like Mason’s not-boyfriend. Corey has no interest in changing this. However, they do have largely similar taste in music, and since Liam got most of his music from a cousin, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to convince him to share with Corey.

Grinning, Corey kisses him.

…

Before the bite, Erica used to sit in the sixth stall in the upstairs bathroom during lunch.

Now, she isn’t sure why she goes back to the boy’s locker room instead of there.

Settling back into the corner, she looks down at the lunch she wasted two hours cooking last night.

She knows she and Boyd aren’t going to get back together, and she’s truly accepted this. If it’s the last thing she does, she’s going to kill the alpha twins, and Boyd has made it clear he thinks the others have the right idea about trying to establish peace.

This doesn’t mean she hadn’t hoped they couldn’t maybe stay friends: Occasionally have lunch together, him help her with her homework, her help him with his project in computer class, fix him his favourite foods and desserts, because, she always worries he isn’t eating enough…

“Yeah, I’m used to being pathetic,” she mutters. Starting to unwrap the food, she raises her soda can. “Here’s to me. Here’s to the newest alpha of Beacon Hills.” She takes a bite. “Or wherever I go.”

She’s seventeen. Her parents have never punished her for her whole running away act, but she can tell they’re disappointed. Before, they had trust in her, and now, they let her do almost whatever she wants with a resignation she finds painful. Her grandmother is always getting sick. Even without the epilepsy and the now pathetically low grade point average she’ll have to try to bring up just enough at summer school so that she doesn’t have to repeat a year, college was never really in her plans.

She wants to be a baker someday. It’s something she’s wanted since she was a little kid, and despite all the food sensitivities, numbed senses, and low appetite brought on by her epilepsy and the medications for it, she’s always worked hard at mastering the craft.

If she just left, she could find a waitressing job easily enough, and from there, she could work on finding a bakery to accept her.

Despite her best efforts, her thoughts keep going back to the lunchroom.

Isaac always sits with Stiles, Kira, Scott, and Allison, and there’s never anywhere near awkwardness this sitting arrangement should cause to make it interesting to eavesdrop. Lydia sometimes sits with them and sometimes with one of the soon-to-be dead twins. Usually, two of the chimera boys join them.

Or no, she remembers one of them is the beta who no one is sure what his deal is. It happened before the Dread Doctors, Derek didn’t bite him, the alpha twins swear they didn’t, and he swears no one did. He just started being a werewolf one day, and the McCall pack ran all over town trying to contain him.

Derek is mostly sure he has a werewolf somewhere in his family gene pool.

The other is either a chimera or just a human who somehow knows about the supernatural. In the case of the latter, however, thankfully, he’s for damn sure no hunter.

Erica wonders if Lydia being a banshee is part of Boyd’s newfound interest in her.

She knows a large part of it is Miss Queen Bee Lydia Martin is a genius. Erica being able to do some coding likely has nothing on whatever Lydia can do. Archaic Latin, perfect advanced science scores, perfect scores in all her AP classes, of course, none of would this be enough. She’s likely able to hack alphabet agencies on a whim, bake the perfect apple pie, and Erica doesn’t even want to think about how good she likely is in bed.

What truly makes the whole thing so hard to stomach isn’t the fact Boyd might end up fighting one of the alpha twin’s for Lydia’s sake when he refuses to be with Erica because she’s determined to fight both. It isn’t the fact Lydia will likely do God knows what with the boy Erica thought she’d finally lose her virginity to. It isn’t the fact this makes two boys she’s had a crush on who want Lydia.

No, her real objection is: Lydia has gone from a sharp-tongued, sarcastic keeper of social order to someone who talks to people she wouldn’t have spared a glance at before, stands up to bullying, and generally projects the image of this mature, relatable nice girl.

She had more respect when Lydia proudly showed her real colours.

Done eating, Erica rewraps the food, goes over to Isaac’s locker, and leaves it inside.

…

In the cafeteria, Allison comes over to the table Lydia and Boyd are sitting at. “I’m sorry I’m late.” Taking a seat, she looks at Boyd. “Erica isn’t here?”

“No."

Glancing around the cafeteria, Allison's eyes land on the twins sitting with Danny and some other boys.

“It’s fine, sweetie.” Lydia pushes over her fruit bowl. “We can check her usual stall, later, if you want.”

“No. Let’s leave her alone.” Digging her phone out, she continues, “We finally got all of the bestiary properly translated. Or at least, I hope we do. If not, I suggest we blame everything going on in this town on Scott and-” Glancing over at Boyd, she cuts herself off.

“That’s the spirit, sweetie.” Lydia looks at Boyd. “Any objections if we add Derek Hale to that list?”

“We’re not-” Allison starts.

“The only people I care about are Erica and myself."

“Anyway,” Allison says, “as far as we can tell, there was only one set of Dread Doctors. Nogitsune, unfortunately, are still out there. We haven’t been able to make a guess on the numbers.”

“Is there anything at all about chimeras,” Boyd asks.

“No,” Allison answers. “Sorry.”

Lydia looks down at her phone. “Got it.” To Boyd, she asks, “You?”

“Got it."

“Allison, why don’t you get something to eat and let me talk to Boyd privately? It won’t take long.”

Nodding, Allison stands. “Be nice."

“I will. Promise.”

Once Allison’s gone, Lydia says, “You seem to be handling things with Erica better than I did when Jackson moved. But as someone who could have written a dissertation on putting up a disinterested front, to the point I believed the mask I was wearing, let me warn you, it can backfire spectacularly in unpredictable ways.”

Boyd finishes his food. “I’ve done the same thing since I was a kid. I know. But this isn’t that." He looks over at the twins. "Your boyfriend-"

“Aiden’s not my boyfriend.”

“His brother, and the other alphas tried to kill Erica in front of me. They tried to kill me, and they tortured us worse than and longer than your best friend did.”

His eyes flash. “You don’t know how close Erica came to dying. No one in this town agrees that they deserve to be put down. That means, no one is going to help us, and I can’t stop her from trying to go after them, but I’m not going to help her get herself killed. I know that, if it weren’t for the Argents helping Derek and Scott, she and I would be dead.”

“So. I’m not sorry for trying to kill you. I’d be happy if Allison died. I’d be even happier if your boyfriend did. But if you and her can work with me to try to make this town safer for Erica until she does get herself killed, then, I’m willing, too. This isn’t a mask. It used to be, but sometimes, if you believe it enough, it becomes real.”

Pursing her lips, Lydia nods. “I do appreciate your honesty, Boyd. And I appreciate you not insisting on saying all this to Allison.”

“As long as she doesn’t push, I won’t push her.”

“Thank you.” Getting up, she goes over to Allison.

…

Mason looks down at the cotton candy Corey just bought for him at the convenience store near the park, and then, looks over at Corey’s empty hands.

“We’re on a date, but you’re not eating.”

Aside from his job at the nursing home, Corey also works at one of the local diners. Most of the money goes into his college fund. The rest goes to buying things such as shoes, new clothes, and the occasional food his parents can’t be bothered to buy.

As a rule, Mason tries not to judge parents. He figured out a long time ago, usually, the parent is right, the kid is wrong, and it doesn’t matter how much he personally empathises with the kid.

In Corey’s case, however, his parents are flat-out awful. They never care where their son is, they buy TV dinners and canned foods in bulk for him to heat up, and they always made him feel so bad when he needed new clothes or shoes, he eventually started buying them himself.

The least Mason can do is not add to Corey’s troubles, and more than this, he doesn’t want to be the type of boyfriend- the type of date who his not-boyfriend spends money he shouldn’t be on.

“I’m eating with Theo and Tracy tonight. And we’ve talked about this. Paying for my parts of our dates isn’t going to make me broke.”

“That isn’t- there’s a flaw-”

Wrapping an arm around his shoulders, Corey advises, “Try your argument on our next date. After you’ve got it all worked out and practised.”

“I don’t practise these points in front of a mirror.”

“Uh-huh.”

He doesn’t.

He does tape record and play them back until they sound just right, but he’ll just keep this little fact to himself forever.

“Are you eating in the tunnels?”

“Yeah. Don’t be like that. Tracy has electricity, running water, and beds.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were thinking it.”

“Mostly, I just worry,” he confesses. “About the tunnels being so isolated and inaccessible. What if something happens to any of you down there?”

“Well, we can all take care of ourselves. Besides, social services is leaving Tracy alone, but she can’t rent an apartment until she’s eighteen, and Theo’s parents are mostly cool with him being a werecoywolf, but a pretty, seventeen-year-old girl who can climb walls and paralyse people, having her crash on their couch or in their son’s room would probably be asking too much.”

Mason can’t argue. “How’s Josh doing?”

Corey smiles. “Good. He’s liking Texarkana a lot more than he thought he would. There’s a nearby electrical plant he can sneak into, and it helps that his grandparents are spoiling him rotten. Sorry, but we haven’t heard from Hayden. She asked us not to text, call, or email.”

“I wasn’t-” He stops, shifts the cotton candy, and grabs Corey’s hand. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to get information for Liam or Scott. I want you to know that.”

“I know.”

Corey kisses him, and it feels as good as it always does, but some part of him can’t help but think Corey doesn’t believe him.

…

When Erica finds out who stole her lunch, she is going to kill them.

She wouldn’t put past one or both of the twins, but she’s aware how hurling the accusation of lunch stealing at them would make her come across to everyone else.

Paying for her lunch, she starts to slip out of the cafeteria when she hears, “Hey, Erica, right?”

Looking over, she sees one of the chimeras has snuck up on her.

Smiling, he says, “I’m Theo. Theo Raeken. Werecoywolf chimera. I promise, I’m not trying to get you to join my pack, but would you like to sit with us? Me and Tracy?”

He gestures over to Tracy Stewart, and Tracy gives her a small wave.

“Yeah, thanks for the offer, but-”

“We’re all kind of in the same position,” he interrupts. “No one wants to be around Tracy since her dad died, I’m still the new kid, and- just, you’re trying to slip out of the cafeteria instead of sitting with someone. I promise: No talking about Derek Hale. Or any of the others, if you don’t want.”

Why not, she decides. She doubts she’s going to get any of the chimeras to help her kill the alpha twins, but as long as they don’t press for information on Derek, she’d rather not eat alone in the boy’s locker room.

“Sure,” she says. “Thanks.”

He takes her tray before she realises he is and goes over to the table.

When she sits down, Theo says, “We usually have another, Corey, but I’m not sure where he is.”

“Probably with Mason,” Tracy comments. “I don’t understand why you approve. Not only could he do better, he should. We, you, especially, should be encouraging him to.”

“I’m sure there are other supernatural teenagers we don’t know about, but out of all the male ones we do know about, I’m the only one not dating someone. Besides, Mason’s alright.”

“He’s a human getting a high off having a devoted chimera trailing after him.”

Smiling slightly, Theo shakes his head, and then, glances over at Erica. “Why don’t we save this discussion for when we don’t have a guest?” To Erica, he adds, “Sorry.”

She shrugs. “There’s more than just him of you, isn’t there?”

Tracy nods, and Erica notices there’s sadness in her eyes. “Most of them are dead. Hayden and Josh moved away.” Giving Theo a tentative look, she proudly says, “Theo’s the Dread Doctors’ only success.”

Erica doesn’t know the whole story, but she and Boyd heard about Tracy, Corey Bryant, Hayden Romero, and Josh Diaz dying along with the rest. Then, suddenly, they weren’t dead. Catching Stiles at the right time had resulted in him ranting about Theo stealing some fluid from the Dread Doctors and reviving the four with it.

She’s long since given up on trying to interpret the morality he and Scott operate under. When everyone thought Lydia was killing people, her and the others trying to kill Lydia to stop her was bad, partly because Lydia didn’t know what she was doing, and when Lydia did unwillingly bring back Peter Hale, it was fine. But when other teenagers were being forced to do bad things against their will and someone managed to willingly bring them back from death, they should have stayed dead, and Theo is a supervillain for daring to care about teenagers being dead.

Gerard and Kate Argent are bad for repeatedly trying to destroy Derek’s life and wanting to hunt down all supernatural creatures, but Chris and, especially, Allison aren’t, even though Chris did the same thing for years and still hates werewolves, and Allison had started to do the same and is against all werewolves and other creatures who aren’t Scott, Lydia, and Isaac.

She immediately banishes all thoughts involving what Scott did with Derek and Gerard out of her head; somehow, she doesn’t think suddenly growling might not attract some unwanted attention, and according to Stiles, her eyes occasionally glow without her meaning for them to when she’s feeling super-intense emotions.

“What are you,” she asks Tracy.

“A kanima werewolf hybrid.”

“Sort of like Jackson,” Erica muses.

“Let’s hope being similar species is where that begins and ends. I remember when he went to school here. He was such a jerk.”

“Tell me about it,” Erica agrees.

“His girlfriend wasn’t much better, but after he left, she eased up, and thankfully, mostly leaves us alone now.”

Erica doesn’t want to think of Lydia and, by extension, Boyd. “And what type of chimeras are the other three?”

“We’re not exactly sure about Corey and Josh,” Theo says.

“They aren’t werewolves or coyotes,” Tracy adds. “Hayden is either a werejaguar or a combination of werewolf and werejaguar. We think Josh might be have Raijū, a Japanese creature composed of lightning, in him. And Corey, he isn’t a shifter at all in the sense of claws and his eyes. There’s no kanima in him, but there’s something reptilian. He’s a chameleon.”

“Don’t worry, as established, he’s also gay,” Theo says. “I kind of hope the doctors knew that when they chose that particular DNA sequence for him. The last thing we need is a boy spying in the girls’ locker room or bathroom.”

“He wouldn’t do that even if he weren’t. He’s sweet. And,” slightly quieter, “he deserves a nice boy who can understand him.”

Biting back a look at the look the two share at this, Erica says, “Um, thank you for letting me sit with you today. It’s nice.”

“No problem,” Tracy says. “You’re always welcome.”

“I know some of you, the born and bit both, don’t think much of us, but whether we’re pure or not, should exist or not, we are all supernatural, and we do. We’re in the same danger from hunters that you are. Regular humans could be turned against us just as easily as they could you,” Theo says.

Erica frowns. “I don’t know anything about- I mean, I know Stiles doesn’t seem to like any of you, but I just assumed that was because of Scott.”

She finds herself yet again disappointed in Stiles. Scott, however, she’d expect nothing less from. In his case, she won’t but could easily make an argument his prejudice against the chimeras has nothing to do with thinking they aren’t true supernaturals.

It’s the opposite with him: They are supernatural, and him being a werewolf isn’t going to keep him from thinking they’re bad because of that. He hates Derek, he refused to even listen to her and Boyd when they tried to explain how the bite was genuinely a gift to them, and aside from loving Allison (poor Kira, Erica sometimes thinks), he’s always respected the Argents, even after Gerard came, Mrs Argent tried to murder him, and Allison hunted and tortured her and Boyd.

She doesn’t know if he knows what Kate Argent did, but if he does, she knows it doesn’t change anything.

Finishing her lunch, she says, “I need to get something from my locker. Maybe we can sit together again sometime.”

They both nod.

…

In the tunnels, Theo looks up from his book. “Hey, Corey. Tracy’s helping her physics partner with homework. We got Erica Reyes to eat with us today. Maybe not happy, but she seemed okay. Not sad or angry over anything.”

“Good,” Corey says. “Thanks.”

He continues to stand there, and smiling slightly, Theo quirks an eyebrow. “Okay, you don’t have to sit down, but none of my abilities extend to mind reading. And you know I’m not going to yell or hurt you, whatever it is. Talk.”

“It’s about Mason.”

“Did he hurt you? Tracy will be glad to-”

“No,” Corey hurriedly says. Sitting on the floor near Theo’s chair, he takes a breath. “I don’t think I can keep- He’s not going to be my boyfriend, and maybe, it’s better if I stop trying.”

Setting his book aside, Theo slides down onto the floor and goes over to Corey. “You know, you don’t have to. It might help bridge a gap between us and Scott, sure, but I thought you wanted him for you.”

“I do,” Corey says. “But- you want to build a bridge or whatever, and they see us all as threats. That, and Liam really misses Hayden. I know he likes me, but I think- all that is why he keeps agreeing to go out with me. To get more information they can use against us.”

Leaning back on his elbows, Theo asks, “That all?”

“I didn’t mind taking things slow with Lucas,” Corey says almost inaudibly. “I was his first boyfriend, and he just wasn’t ready for a lot of things. But we were a lot alike. I tried to- with Mason, and he said no. He won’t do anything but kiss. I wouldn’t mind waiting with him, too, but- sometimes, I think it’s probably the fact we’re never going to be boyfriends that stops him. He’s one of the smartest boys in school, and his parents are so proud of him, and he’s going to go to a great college when he graduates. I like going to Sinema, won’t be getting any scholarships, and I doubt his parents would like someone like me.”

“All those things about him- he’s still ordinary, Corey. You’re special. Don’t forget that. Don’t ever forget it.”

“He’s not supernatural, but he’s still special,” Corey quietly says.

“Not special enough to justify making you feel like this.” Theo sits up. “Is Mason generally honest? Can you tell when he’s not?”

“Yes. Mason’s honest. He’s never- he might have during the Dread Doctor experiments, but since everything’s come out, he hasn’t lied about anything.”

“And you’d know if he did?”

“I wouldn’t even have to be supernatural to tell. Mason is a terrible liar. I’ve seen him trying to deal with humans who don’t know, and luckily, they all think he’s just a nervous, excitable spaz.”

“Then, my advice is: Have an honest conversation, and lay everything on your side out. If he’s going to be your boyfriend, that should tip him in the right direction. If it doesn’t, then, you need to accept he’s not and end things.”

Corey nods. “Thanks."

“I hope he does,” Theo says. “But if he doesn’t, I promise, you’ll get over him quicker than you can believe. Because, compared to you, he is ordinary, Corey.”

…

Erica finds herself in a deserted hallway with one of the twins.

Of course, is her frustrated thought on the matter.

She’s aware he could easily kill her. She’s aware trying to kill him is unlikely to work. She’s aware her anger likely isn’t enough to hide her fear from him.

“Still having trouble with working out a plan to kill us,” he taunts. “You haven’t tried to follow us home, lately. No wolfs bane, mountain ash, or mistletoe juice in our food, either. Finally accepting we’re here to stay?”

“Are you the one with Lydia or Danny?”

He gives her a surprised look, and she knows what she’s suddenly thinking is on the top of the list of idiotic, nonsensical ideas she’s ever had.

“I’m Aiden.”

“Good for you. That’s not what I asked. You think I pay attention to either of your names?”

Giving a look conceding that’s fair enough, he says, “Yeah, Lydia and I have had some fun.”

She launches at him, and ignoring the claws in her back, she kisses him.

The next thing she knows, she’s in the familiar position of sitting on the floor and staring up an alpha wiping his mouth and looking at her with disgusted curiosity. “What in the hell was that? What were you doing?”

Painfully aware of the gross taste of him in her mouth, the searing pain in her back, and the fact she can almost literally feel her blood mixing into her silk shirt, she wipes her own mouth (it doesn’t really help) and carefully stands up. Smirking, she says, “I’ll let you figure that out.”

In a stroke of luck, the bell rings, and the hallways is quickly swarmed with people.

…

Allison and Lydia are working on editing the bestiary when Aiden bursts in.

Tensing, Allison picks up her bag and withdraws her mini-crossbow.

Lydia starts to say, “Well, I’ll-”

“Can you poison someone with a kiss? Can Nogitsune possess werewolves? Erica Reyes just kissed me!”

“Excuse me,” Lydia inquires in an incredulous tone.

“In the hallway. I-” He gives Lydia wary look. “I was taunting her, she lunged, and the next thing I knew, she was kissing me.”

“Okay,” Allison says. “Is Erica still alive and unharmed?”

“Alive, yes. I don’t have any idea what might behind this.”

“But you didn’t hurt her, did you,” Allison prompts.

“Uh-” Glancing between the two, he does a double-take at the crossbow. “When she launched herself at me, I stuck my claws in her back, and I threw her off me. But other than whatever made her kiss me, she was fine. She stood up, she could talk, and she walked away.”

“Was there anyone else in the hallway,” Lydia asks.

“No.”

“Then, the first thing we need to do is try to figure out if this really happened. Something could be going around and causing hallucinations. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Allison puts the crossbow up. “Shouldn’t the first step be trying to make sure there isn’t any poison of any kind in his system? If there is, it might explain the hallucination. Or it might prove she was there and did do something. Either way, if there is, we need to try to cure him. We don’t need to deal with a dead alpha in town.”

“You have a point. First thing-”

Boyd comes in with his hands full of books. “I got the-”

The books fall, he shifts, and with a growl, he starts to advance on Aiden.

Lydia and Allison both step in front of Aiden, and Allison says in a firm, calm voice, “Boyd, Erica kissed him. We don’t know why. She just jumped at him and kissed him in the hallway.”

Not shifting back, he glares at them. “Erica wouldn’t-”

“Boyd, Erica tried to seduce Scott. She put her hand on my thigh as an intimidation tactic. Even with that, I don’t think this is something she’d do under normal circumstances, in her right mind, but there is a precedence. If there is something going on with her, he might be your best chance at figuring out what.”

Boyd studies the three of them. “And one or both of you saw this?”

They don’t verbally answer, and he pushes them both aside before they can react.

Both werewolves have their claws pressed against the other’s throat.

“Listen to me,” Aiden manages to get out in a strained voice. “Yeah, we did some horrible things in the vault. I’ve never denied that. My brother, either. But none of us ever touched her or you in that way. We never tried anything sexual. None of us even wanted to, and you would have known if we had. You can smell her all over me, but ignore that for a minute. What do you smell from _me_?”

Boyd’s nostrils flair, and aside from his claws, he shifts back.

There’s a tense silence.

Getting her gloves from her bag, Allison slips them on and slowly approaches the two. “Okay. I’m going to-” She carefully slips a hand through the hand extending claws on each. Wrapping her hands around them as best she can, she says, “Now, on three, you’re both going to wrap your hand around mine. Sound fair?”

They both nod.

“Good. One, two, three.”

Both hands wrap around hers, and lowering them, she lets go when both are at their sides.

Lydia pulls her over.

Boyd picks up the books, and then, gets his phone out. “I’m texting Isaac. Whatever’s going on with Erica,” he looks at Allison, “it hasn’t been established hunters have the right to get involved, yet.”

“Don’t mind her, she just saved you and Aiden both from mutual death.”

“It might have been worth it. One alpha- Erica would have a chance.”

“She wants to steal our powers. That’s more important than us being dead.”

“She wants peace,” Boyd retorts. “Not for anyone else, but all she wants is to, for once in her life, feel safe and happy. If you and your brother weren’t around, she’d focus on graduation, and then, she could go somewhere with no hunters or anything else we’ve had to deal with.”

“Lydia was never a threat to her, but she tried to kill her,” Aiden snaps.

“Don’t bring me into this,” Lydia orders. “I don’t care what Erica wants. I want a mentally unstable her or something wearing her body to not run around causing chaos!”

…

“Hey, uh, one of the chimeras said he saw you come into here.”

Erica looks up from the corner of the boy’s locker room.

Shutting the door, Isaac comes over. “Can I see?”

Turning, she carefully takes off her shirt.

“I’m going to see if taking your pain will help, okay?”

“Thanks, Isaac,” she softly says.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, he closes his eyes, and black veins run up his arms.

After a moment, she orders, “Stop.”

Moving his hand, he opens his eyes.

The scratches on her back close up and leave nothing but smears of blood.

He gets a towel, kneels back down, and wipes the blood away. “I have my jersey in my locker."

“Thank you.”

When he brings it over, she makes a small sound. “What do you know?”

“Boyd, uh, texted me to call him. He said that- you kissed one of the alphas? One of the twins. Who put you and him in a vault?”

Slipping the jersey on, she says, “Yeah, I don’t know what that was about. It didn’t work with Derek. I don’t even know- I didn’t have a plan. Like whatsoever.”

“S-Scott and the others aren’t the enemy,” he quietly says. “I know he didn’t handle things great when Derek first bit us, but he’s gotten a lot better. He cares about all of us. Including you.”

“If Scott weren’t straight, you’d have already kissed him,” she retorts.

He shrugs.

“Worse, I’ve seen how you look at Allison Argent. When you screw up, you really go all in, don’t you? Take what she did to me and Boyd completely out of it, and she still shot at you, slashed you with knives, and tried to kill Derek. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, Scott is in love with her, and she only fell in love with him, because, she thought he was human. No other werewolf is ever going to have any chance. But hey, at least, theoretically, you have a shot with her, which is more than you have with him.  You ever go for her, and that’ll work out even better than it did when you wanted Lydia freaking Martin, I’m sure.”

Isaac takes a small breath.

“I’m not Derek.”

She looks over.

“You’ve made it clear you wanted to be left alone, so, I have. Maybe I should have gone with you and him. Or maybe I should have tried to stop you. I’m-I’m not saying I’m great and never do things badly, but I’m never going to leave you and Boyd. I’m not like Derek. So- go ahead. After my dad, I can take a lot worst, trust me. But as long as- I’m still yours and his.”

Tears form, and Erica slumps down.

Cautiously, she moves towards him, and he pulls her against him.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says.

“No, it’s not.” She wipes at her tears. “Derek had a good reason.”

“He could have taken us with him.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Thank you, Isaac. I know I’ve been doing a terrible job at showing it, but you were part of what helped keep me alive. I’m so glad you managed to get through everything alive and relatively unharmed.”

He kisses her head, and she snuggles closer against him.

“We could all do better, but then, the fact we haven’t done a whole lot worse has to mean something," he says.

Laughing quietly, she nods, and he curls further around her.

…

“Gloves off,” Lydia demands.

“I’m fi-”

Grabbing her hands, Lydia tugs them off and gently examines them.

“I’m fine,” Allison says. “They didn’t scratch me or even squeeze hard.”

“Good."

“Sometimes, I wish you’d judge me for what I did to all of them.”

Lydia sits down. “If I had been the kanima, would you have blamed me for all the dead people?”

Shaking her head, Allison sits, too. “That’s different.”

Shrugging, a small smile crosses Lydia's face. “Personally, I think we all hold blame. Who holds the most, I’m not particularly interested in. Did something happen to your grandfather long ago that made him like this? He started a war with the Hales, and your aunt almost finished it. Then, Peter almost did.”

Lydia moves a strand of hair out of Allison’s face. “Don’t get mad, sweetie, but your parents could have done a better job of raising you. So could mine. When you first moved here-” She half-sighs and half-scoffs. “I had everything figured out, and I was on top of the world. Funny how lonely and numb it could be up so high. I hope I never actively hurt Erica and others like her. But of course, I knew what other students did to them, and I never deigned to involve myself. I could have. I should have.”

“That doesn’t make what she did right,” Allison says.

“No, it doesn’t. Because I was like that, however, and you were so in love with Scott, you lied to me, kept me ignorant, and made me feel unbearably isolated. I don’t blame you for that, either, because, I know you’re my best friend, and you were trying your best to do what you thought was right for me.”

“Allison, your grandfather used your mother’s death to manipulate you. I don’t care how much expertise you have as an archer, how much you moved around, or how many times you managed to hold your own against Derek Hale, other supernatural creatures, and even other hunters. You were seventeen, you lost your mother, and Gerard has had decades of mastering applying manipulative tactics to people.”

“So, I’ll agree all of us have done regrettable things, but as much as you keep wishing, you aren’t going to get judgement from me over what happened with Derek Hale’s pack.”

Smiling slightly, Allison wipes at her eyes. “Thanks.”

Squeezing her hand, Lydia says, “We just need to stick together. Get all the allies we can, handle the outsiders, and when things get tough, remember everything else we’ve already been through.”

“Yeah.”

…

In the twins’ apartment, Ethan gets two beers, hands one to Aiden, and sits down. “Erica Reyes, yellow-eyed beta who took on Kali, tried to kill Deucalion with his own cane, and is responsible for us having to switch apartments twice, plus the poisoned cookies, cupcakes, tomato soup, and orange juice? I mean, I know she’s big on improvising, and let’s face it, aside from the first time she followed us home, none of her attempts had any chance at working, but- kissing you?”

“Argent finally convinced Lahey to get a hair sample from her, and Lydia’s analysing it. Kira’s going to talk to her mom, see if there’s a safe way to get some oni back to test her. I mean, it could just be her temporarily snapping more than normal, or maybe she was mildly exposed to some wolfs bane or mistletoe.”

“How’d Lydia take it?”

“Fine. She still won’t give me a chance, but she knows I have enough standards I wouldn’t willingly do anything like that with Reyes. She’s more focused on making sure there’s not a new threat to everyone else than anything else.” He groans. “Hey, do you think the chimeras might have something to do with this? She did eat lunch with two of them recently. And Raeken-” He shakes his head.

“He only started showing an interest in her when that beta chameleon of his started stalking her,” Ethan says. “And I’m still pretty sure it’s the beta with all the interest, not him. Think we should tell the others about that?”

“Not right now. We’re sure he’s gay, right? I think Lahey might be okay, he’d only care if he thought someone was a potential threat, but Boyd-”

“Yeah, that little chimera wouldn’t stand a chance against Boyd. You’re right; we should not say anything right now. And yes, he is. Ten-years-old, he asked Danny out, because, he knew he only wanted to marry a boy when he grew up, so, he had to start deciding who that would be, and right then, Danny was the coolest one around.”

Aiden laughs. “Wait. Ten. That would make Danny what, twelve?”

“He’d just turned thirteen. Obviously, he said no, and from what I gather, he was very gentle about it.”

“And you don’t have a problem with-” Aiden pauses

“With what? A kid asked out my boyfriend when they were both kids. Yeah, I’m more worried about what Raeken might do. Besides, unlike Lydia, Danny’s actually mine. He likes me. He doesn’t have a problem with wanting me. And trust me, I more than satisfy him.”

“Taking your word, and swearing to kill you if you go into any detail whatsoever,” is Aiden’s response.

“Fair’s fair,” Ethan says. “But, uh- You know, if Lydia ever actually becomes your girlfriend, you can tell me all the non-bedroom details.”

“I know. Thanks.”

…

Erica doubts her mom would particularly care if Erica shut her door with Boyd in her room, but Boyd insists on leaving it open.

“If this is about earlier- I don’t know why I did it, but the way I see it: You broke up with me. I can do whatever stupid thing crosses my mind without your interference, even if that stupid thing involves me kissing a disgusting, evil alpha who held us hostage and tried to kill us.” She sighs. “And you should probably talk to Lydia about this any further. Isaac begged me for a hair sample. I think her plan was for him to discreetly get it, but whatever, scientist banshee Lydia Martin now has a strand of my hair.”

Boyd simply looks at her.

“Sit and talk,” she orders.

He doesn’t sit. “Before we broke up, the last time you tried to kill them, you lied to me, kept what you were doing a secret, and almost ended up dead. It’s not fair to expect me to be okay with you almost dying or the other things.”

“You should have kept running, Boyd. Those arrows could have killed you. You might have been able to escape the alphas.”

He scoffs.

Glaring, she stands. “I saw a chance. It almost worked. If it had, you, Isaac, all the other werewolves and supernaturals, that would have left them with only Deucalion to deal with it. He might come back with another alpha pack someday, but maybe, by then, someone besides Scott with his save everyone shtick would be ready and willing to truly deal with him.”

“I agreed with all of that. The issue isn’t you or your plan.”

“Yeah, I know, it was keeping you out,” she softly says. “Tell me, Boyd: When did I find out about Alicia? How? Your dad?”

“I never lied about anything, and if you’d asked-”

“Right,” she huffs. “When it comes to us, everyone is on your side.” Wiping at her eyes, she shakes her head. “I told you everything. I wanted you to know everything, good and bad, about me. It was scary, and sometimes, it hurt, but I love you so much, not wasn’t an option. You let me talk, and you listened, and you loved me back. But you were always so careful not to let me know too much.”

“I don’t know why. Were you scared? Did you think there was something that would make me stop? That I might use something against you? I don’t know, but I do know that you were good at keeping me from asking.”

“That didn’t give you the right-”

“The hell it didn’t. The way I see it, if I died, you’d still be alive, and maybe, someday, you could find someone you would share yourself with. If I didn’t and succeeded, well, maybe, everything would settle, and we could work on our issues. I know I have them, too, besides keeping you out, but- You broke up with me.”

“If I’d actively lied to you about something so big, would you ever be able to trust me?”

She takes a sharp breath, and more tears fall. “Leave. I don’t want you here, anymore.”

Nodding, he pauses at the door. “I hope you don’t die.”

“Boyd.”

He stops.

“I know it’s been a long time since you’ve been happy. The honest truth is, I do want you to be happy again. Hopefully, it’ll happen soon.”

He leaves.

…

Theo’s carrying some books in the library when Allison comes over. “Theo.”

Glancing over, he stops. “Hey, Allison. You’re not a library aide, are you? Tracy wants some book on astrophysics, and I can’t pronounce half the words in the title. I never met Mister Harris, but since she liked him so much, I wish he were here.”

“No. You should ask Lydia. Uh, could I talk to you privately?”

“Sure, let me just return these real quick. I don’t know why or how we have so many library books. None of us really read that much, outside of class and homework.”

She gives a small laugh. “You could let them return their own. That might help.”

“Yeah, I tried that, but the librarian made Corey almost cry, and I probably shouldn’t tell this to a hunter, but there was almost an incident when Tracy returned some overdue books. But it’s okay, no one was paralysed and forced to endure Barney the Dinosaur on repeat.”

“That’s oddly specific,” Allison comments.

“Tracy’s hated the head librarian since freshman year. She’s given it a lot of thought even before she became a kanima werewolf.”

He drops the books in the return box, and they find a table away from everyone.

“What do you know about Erica and the alpha twins?”

“Not much, really. I know she’s bitten. Derek Hale gave the bite to her, Boyd, and Isaac. I know the twins kidnapped her and Boyd last summer with some other alphas who are all dead, now. And I can only tell them apart if they’re with Lydia or Danny.”

“Most of us have that problem,” she says. “Erica wants to kill the twins. I’m not exaggerating. She literally wants to murder them, and she’s tried before. Aside from one time, she’s never gotten close, but if she were to have help from you, Tracy, and Corey- I’m asking you not to help her.”

He studies her for a moment. “I don’t like the twins. I know a little about alpha packs. They involve alphas killing their own betas. If they ever try to go after me or any of my pack, we will fight back. But on the other hand, preemptive strikes are always risky. I can’t judge Erica on wanting to kill her kidnappers, and from what I’ve seen, she’s okay, but she isn’t worth stirring the boat.”

“Rocking the boat,” she corrects.

Shrugging, he smiles. “We aren’t going to help her go after any alpha or hunter unless they become a clear threat to us, first. I know- look, I respect the fact some supernatural creatures do want to hurt humans. I think it’s brave there are other humans who are willing to risk their lives to stop them. But most of us, just because we can do things that humans can’t, it doesn’t mean we aren’t people. It doesn’t mean we’re automatically dangerous. Tracy’s hoping to go to Yale, Corey’s sixteen and in love, and I just want to protect them.”

“I know all that,” she quietly says. “My family’s code used to be, ‘We hunt those who hunt us.’ Maybe there was a time when that applied, but it became twisted to demonising werecreatures and certain other people with supernatural abilities. My family mastered the art of preemptive strikes. But I changed it.”

“We protect those who cannot protect themselves,” she declares. “If a hunter goes after an innocent werewolf, I’ll stop them, the same as if a werewolf goes after an innocent human.”

“Good,” he says. “I just hope Erica can learn to adapt like we all are.”

“I hope so, too.”

…

Tracy hands the vial to Theo. “I’m not sure about this.”

“Trust me. The worst Lydia can do is create a fast-acting neutraliser. In which case, you’ve still got claws, fangs, speed, and strength. If another full kanima ever shows up, though, this could be invaluable to stopping it.”

“She still has some of Jackson’s Whittemore’s.”

“Yeah, but like you, there’s some very unique factors to what he is. You were both made but in vastly different ways.”

Coming in, Corey catches it when Theo tosses the vial.

“Why do I have to give it to Lydia? What if Allison Argent or McCall is there?”

“Corey, all you have to do is not spill it and make sure it’s handed to Lydia. You’ll be fine. Trust me.”

“Unless Allison decides to shoot me with arrows! Or I get claws in my neck. Again.”

“Allison almost shot Scott when she found out he did that,” Theo reminds him. “It’ll be fine. Just go.”

Grumbling, Corey does.

Tracy cocks her head, and then, looks at Theo. “What are you up to?”

“Trust me,” he repeats.

…

Leaving the store and seeing a silver van driving down the street, Erica's stomach tightens, and ducking behind the store, she starts walking down a backroad.

There’s a gasp and a thud, and stopping, she looks around. There’s a another heartbeat, but she can’t locate where it could possibly be coming from.

“Hello? Anyone here?”

Any answer she might have got is cut off by multiple vans surrounding her, and she suddenly realises how much safer she was walking beside the highway.

Men and women with guns, arrows, and rifles with scopes aim at her.

…

In the chemistry lab, Lydia taps her fingers. “It’s been over an hour.”

“Maybe he ran into Mason on the way here,” Allison suggests.

Groaning, Lydia shakes her head. “I’m going to tell my mother to go home without me. If he decides to show up while I’m gone-”

“He won’t be here when you come back.”

“That would be good for him.”

A few minutes after Lydia has gone, Boyd comes in. “Hey.”

Smiling tentatively, she echoes, “Hey.”

“Is Lydia here?”

“She’s with her mom. She’ll be back soon.”

He sits down. “Is the recoil for shooting an arrow different from a gun?” At her surprised, slightly uneasy look, he says, “In JROTC, we’re doing archery next week.”

“Oh. Um, yes. If you want some advice-”

“That’d be nice.”

She smiles. “Well, one of the first things I learned was that…”

…

Knocking on the lab door, Theo comes in with Tracy behind him.

“Hey, Theo,” Allison greets.

Boyd raises his hand in greeting.

“Hey.” He looks around. “This is the right place, right? Corey hasn’t been in here recently. He was supposed to meet Lydia here?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t seen or heard from him. I think Lydia was just about to call you, actually. He’s not answering his phone.”

Tracy lets out a noise that causes Allison and Boyd to jump. “It’s probably that Mason boy.” Ignoring Boyd’s look, she continues, “I told you he’d cause trouble. What if my venom gets lost because of him?”

“Mason really likes him. And he really likes Mason.”

“Or he took your suggestion to have an honest conversation about wanting to be boyfriends, and Mason broke his heart. If Mason did-”

“Hunter in the room,” Theo reminds her.

“If Mason did, something bad that won’t be traced back to me will happen to him.”

“He wouldn’t be able to detect poison in his food,” Boyd says.

The three stare.

He shrugs. “I don’t have a side in all of this."

Suddenly, Corey bursts into the room.

“Corey?” Tracy grabs him as he stumbles. “Did you- did the vial break?”

Looking at Allison with wide-eyes, Corey pleads, “Why’d you take Erica? Please, let her go.”

Before Theo or Tracy can respond, Boyd has his claws against Allison’s neck, and his other hand encircles her wrists.

“Tracy-”

“On it.” Striding over, she says, “She’s either going to tense or sag.” He moves his claws directly off Allison’s neck, and producing her claws, she slips her hand under Allison’s shirt and pokes her in the back.

Patting her down, Tracy sets the Taser, Chinese ring daggers, and arrows down. “The venom should wear off in about thirty minutes to an hour. She can’t talk or, at least, not much while it’s in her system. You’ll need to find another way to restrain her if you want to interrogate her.”

“Hopefully, it’s not going to come to that.” Pulling Tracy back over, he gets Corey sat down. “This hasn’t gone too far for any of us. Boyd, she’s paralysed. Why don’t you set her down? Or at least, take your claws from her throat.”

Corey tugs on his sleeve. “The Argents took her, Theo.”

“Hey,” Theo gently says. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I know you believe that. Tell us what happened? Where’s Erica?”

“They took her,” Corey repeats.

Tracy hands him a glass of water.

“I was coming here to give Lydia the vial when I saw Erica coming out of Sam’s Groceries. I- I’m sorry, but somehow, the venom leaked out. I fell down, and I wasn’t even, I was visible. I thought I’d try talking to her, but when I fell, I just automatically blended in. I couldn’t change back or say anything. These vans came, and they had hunters. They said the Argent family had unfinished business with her.”

“I know Allison can’t speak for herself right now, but I think it’s safe to say we all know, if these were just regular humans, Erica would have fought. Did she fight, Corey?”

“They had weapons. Guns, bows, some of the guns had red lights. One of them shot her with- I don’t know what it had in it, probably some kind of wolfs bane. She fell, and they put- remember those cuffs Josh couldn’t get out of? They put them on her, picked her up, and drove away with her.”

“Hunters have Erica, then. These people were hunters, and they have some knowledge of the Argent family. This doesn’t mean Allison or her dad had anything to do with it. I- For all we know, they’re enemies of the Argent, and they took someone the Argents have unfinished business with to deal with their own unfinished business with them.”

Corey shakes his head. “I heard them talking. One of them said, ‘I’m glad she’s finally doing the right thing. There’s a chance she’ll live up to her mother, yet.’”

Theo makes a frustrated noise. “Corey, this is very important. I need you to think hard, and don’t answer until you’re sure. Did these men, women, people, did you ever hear any of them say the name ‘Allison’?”

“No, but I heard, ‘Chris Argent isn’t going to be happy.’ Someone else said, ‘He isn’t the head of the Argents. We don’t take our orders from him without her approval.’”

“She did this,” Boyd quietly says with a contemptuous glare at Allison.

“Boyd, I understand how you’re feeling. I truly do. My pack, my friends, the people I love have been hurt and put in danger before. You and I have both lost people. If Allison’s responsible for this, then, the fact she’s faced the same doesn’t matter. But there is more than one Argent. There’s very likely more than just her and her father. When they stopped hunting on a large scale, when Allison changed the code to, ‘We protect those who cannot protect themselves,’ an Argent relative could have stepped in. Decided to reclaim the Argent name and original mission statement for themselves. That comment about this person’s mother- We don’t know for sure what it meant.”

“Did you hear anything else, Corey,” Tracy asks.

Corey takes a shaky breath. “One of them said, ‘Her idea of a preemptive strike is good, but I’m worried about leaving the banshee alone.’”

“Hunters don’t typically go after banshees. Again, that could-” Stopping, Theo rubs his face and scoffs. “Preemptive strike.”

“What does this mean,” Tracy asks.

“It means, we’re leaving, now. Do you two have your phones and licences?”

Nodding, Corey and Tracy produce them.

“Good, the emergency bags are still in my car. We don’t need anything else. Boyd, you could come with us. Scott won’t listen, not when it involves her, but maybe, with you, we could convince Isaac, the Yukimuras, and Liam.”

Boyd shakes his head. “No.”

“Leaving?” Corey stands. “What about Mason?”

Putting his hand on the back of Corey’s neck, Theo says, “I’m sorry. Please, Corey, don’t stay because of him. He’ll be safer without you, and you’ll be safer with us.”

Glancing at Tracy, Corey gives a small nod.

“Boyd. I know Erica’s a fighter. But if she isn’t dead, she will be very soon. I’m sorry to say it, but- you aren’t going to find her alive.”

“I know.”

Giving a slight nod, Theo says, “Okay.” He walks over. “The Argents have already declared war. If you stay and fight, your best bet is to weaken them as best as you can. If you want my advice: Kill her. She’s not just the Argent leader. She’s also the Argent heir. Chris Argent could probably have another kid, but it’d take time for him or her to grow. I’d never wish death on an innocent baby, but if he does during this war, there is always the chance it could be killed. There might already be plans in place for a new leader to take over if she falls, but there might not. Either way, until every Argent old enough to fight is wiped out, you, Derek, and those associated with you will always be in danger.”

Moving closer, he puts his hand on Boyd’s shoulder. “And know I’m truly, deeply sorry for Erica.”

He walks back over, and Tracy asks, “Do we try to find Kira and the others?”

As they walk out, Theo answers, “No. It’s a waste of precious time.”

…

In the parking lot, Theo looks around. Tossing Tracy the keys, he orders, “You drive. Stick to the backroads, and stick to the speed limit until we get out of the county.”

He strips, and opening the SUV’s door, Tracy folds the clothes and puts them and the shoes inside.

Theo shifts into his coywolf form.

Corey hesitates.

Tracy puts a hand on his shoulder. “We’re your pack, Corey. Hunters aren’t going to hurt a human, but if you think I’m going to let you risk yourself for him, think again. I wouldn’t have any qualms with killing him.”

Theo makes a warning sound.

Shuddering, Corey shrugs her hand off. “You have a lot in common with Victoria Argent.”

Getting in the van, he puts his seatbelt on, closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath.

Theo jumps in, and Tracy closes the door, goes around to the driver’s side, and after locking the doors and putting her seatbelt on, she looks back. “Ready?”

Theo barks.

She begins driving, and Corey stares out the window until Theo jumps up onto his lap and nuzzles his chest.

Sniffling, Corey begins petting him.

…

Tossing Allison to the ground, Boyd begins opening cabinets. “Argents don’t believe in fair fights. I’m not sure I do, either, but I’m not a cold-blooded killer.”

“B-boy-Boyd,” she weakly whispers.

Kneeling down, he gags her with a towel. Finding handcuffs in her bag, he wraps her arms around a desk leg and handcuffs her wrists. “I’m going to find your father, and I’m going to try to kill him. If I manage, you and I can fight then.”

Taking off his belt, he wraps it around her knees.

Finding some linen and cotton, he tightly covers her eyes with the linen. “If I do manage to survive, I will spend the rest of my life killing everyone with Argent blood I can find. Kids don’t stay kids forever. They turn eighteen. Or they turn sixteen, seventeen, and join the family business.”

He stuffs the cotton in her ears, picks up her phone, removes the battery, and stuffs the phone in his pocket.

Going to the door, he turns off the lights, walks out, and has the door half-shut when Lydia appears. “Boyd! Hey. Where’s Allison? I was just with my mom. It took longer than I expected. Did Corey ever come?”

“Allison left a few minutes ago. Someone texted her. I think it was her dad.”

She frowns. “Well, this day has been a complete waste. I’m going to see if I can find Stiles. Unless you want to work on studying for your chem. test?”

Shutting the door, he shakes his head. “I have plans to see Erica.”

“Okay, I’ll see you this weekend, then.”

“Sounds good.”

He walks away, and behind him, Lydia goes back the direction she came from.

…

“Stiles, Isaac’s here!”

Coming out of his room, Stiles frowns. “Isaac. Why- What are you doing here?”

“Stiles-” Sheriff Stilinski starts.

“It’s alright,” Isaac says. “Uh- I have a bad feeling. It, it could be nothing, but Boyd, Erica, and Allison aren’t answering my texts or calls. It’s not surprising with Boyd, but Erica and Allison always do. And I just have a bad feeling.”

“Alright, come to my room. Dad, we don’t need anything. What does Scott think about this?”

“He’s helping Deaton do surgery on a mountain lion.”

“Yeah, better not bother him right now.”

They disappear, and Sheriff Stilinski sighs.

…

In his room, Stiles asks, “So, bad feeling, what exactly are we talking about here?” He plops down on his bed. “Sit down.”

Isaac does. “It’s kind of hard to explain. Last year, when everything was going on with Gerard, I didn’t know, but when Allison got them, I kept feeling- it was sort of like a stomach-ache and sore throat combined. My body felt weird. I kept feeling like that all summer. Then, when they got back, I felt a lot better, but sometimes, I still start to feel weird. When Erica kissed one of the twins, around that time, I started feeling itchy, and it didn’t go away until I found her and helped her heal.”

“It sounds like pack bonds,” Stiles says. “Do you feel like one of them specifically might be in trouble or pain? Both?”

“If they are, it’s probably Erica I’m feeling. Boyd, uh, I don’t think I really feel it when it’s just him.”

“Really?” Stiles looks at him with interest.

Nodding, Isaac looks down. “Yeah.” Looking back up, Isaac says, “Boyd’s always been loyal, but he’s, um, maybe not exactly pack.”

“No?”

Isaac shakes his head. “He didn’t really care about me or Erica, at first. Then, she turned into the only one of us he did. I don’t know, if Derek had had more of an idea of what he was doing, if that would have happened or not.”

“Well, the first thing we need to do is try to find out where the last place other people saw them was. Any ideas?”

Before Isaac can answer, Stiles’s laptop dings.

Going over, he pulls up Kira’s face.

“Hey, sorry to bother you, but have you seen Erica?”

“No. Actually, Isaac,” he pulls Isaac over,” and me have been trying to find where she and Boyd might be.”

“And Allison,” Isaac adds. “Did you have plans to meet her later?”

“Yeah. Or- I mean, sort of. My dad’s been teaching her how to make different Asian sweets. They like to use me as a guinea pig. But she never met me at the lacrosse field. After practise, we go to Dad’s room together, and he’d drive us home, then, drive her home when they’re done.”

“Kira, do you remember when and where you last saw the three of them today,” Stiles asks.

“Erica was in math class this morning. Before I went to practise, I talked to Allison before she went to meet with Lydia in the chem. lab. And Boyd, I think I saw him during lunch.”

“Alright, what about the chimeras, do either of you know where all they’ve been?”

Isaac rolls his eyes. “Don’t start with your vendetta against Theo right now. Erica, Boyd, and Allison could all be in trouble.”

“I saw Tracy and Corey at lunch,” Kira offers. “I’m not sure about Theo.”

“See,” Stiles pointedly says. “I’m calling Lydia. Kira, where are you?”

“At home.”

“Are your parents there?”

“My dad is.”

“Okay, look, tell him to take you to your mom, and then, all three of you meet us at the station. Isaac and I are going to find Lydia and see about Liam.”

“He and the other team members were going to see a movie, but I’m not sure if they were going to go before for after getting something to eat,” Kira says. “Also, the coach was more- he was too focused on Greenberg to notice you two and Scott weren’t there.”

“Okay, good, one less thing to worry about. Until we figure out where all of us are, none of us go anywhere alone.”

“What about Scott,” Isaac asks.

“We’ll send him a text. He’s with Deaton, so, he should be fine.”

…

Sitting down on Erica’s bed, Boyd closes his eyes.

_Erica glares at Derek, and Boyd’s suddenly finds his vague amusement towards her replaced by genuine curiosity. More than just her glare, she’s radiating fury and confusion._

_“Jackson is your fault.”_

_Derek nods. “Yes.”_

_“How can you be so-” She looks over at him and Isaac, and he feels guilty, but neither he nor Isaac is going to join her in this. He doesn’t care enough about the morality of them going after Derek’s reject beta to risk Derek’s disapproval, and Isaac is always going to go with the strongest person in the room. Right now, red-eyed Derek fits._

_“You didn’t have any objections before,” Derek mildly points out._

_She scoffs. “I still plan on helping kill him. I’m just wondering about you, now. None of us knew, or at least, I thought none of us did, what made the kanima. It was just an abomination, going around and killing innocent people. It didn’t matter who it was, but it being Lydia or Jackson sure made it easier. But Scott’s got a point, doesn’t he, Derek?”_

_“You didn’t tell any of us that **we** might turn into a murderous lizard,” she accuses. “You didn’t tell us that, if we did, you’d set betas after us, instead of even trying to save us. Stiles, Scott, and Allison, no one could blame them if they decided to join us or kill Jackson themselves, but instead, for all he’s an asshole, they’re trying to save him from what you did. And you’re trying to kill him when it’s your fault he’s like this to begin with.”_

_“And while they’re trying to save him, he’s killing even more innocent people,” Derek retorts._

_She shrugs. “I knew the bite might kill me. I was willing to accept that. I probably would have said yes if you’d told me there was a chance I’d turn into a homicidal lizard and have to be put down. But you didn’t give me or them,” she gestures to him and Isaac, “that choice.”_

_Turning, she declares, “I’m going home. Either of you boys want to walk me?”_

_He’s not sure what makes him, but he finds himself falling into step with her._

..

_“Did you bite her mom,” Erica demands._

_Sitting with his head in his hands, Derek answers, “No.”_

_“Then, why don’t we find a way to meet with her and Chris Argent,” Isaac suggests. “Tell them.”_

_Boyd knows the answer._

_“There’s no way to prove it,” Derek quietly says._

_Erica takes a breath. “Why’d you have to save Scott? If you’d just let him die-”_

_“And if you’d just killed Jackson instead of interrogating him-”_

_“You made it clear we weren’t allowed to hurt Stiles! He would definitely have tried to stop us.”_

_Groaning, she spins around and grabs his hand. “C’mon, Boyd. I’m going to make some peach pie.”_

_He follows._

_.._

_Boyd looks around the vault._

_“I was fairly sure Miss Reyes would be the first to come back.”_

_Shifting, he turns to face Deucalion._

_“Or that you and she would be together.”_

_We are together, Boyd doesn’t say._

_“Why are you here, Boyd?”_

_“Why are you?”_

_“To give you some advice.” Deucalion moves closer but stops just out of easy striking distance. “I suggest you live.”_

_“I’m still alive.”_

_“But Miss Reyes won’t be for long.” At Boyd’s growl, Deucalion continues, “Oh, don’t be so defensive. I’m not interested in capturing or otherwise harming innocent betas and aimless omegas anymore.”_

_“She was destined to die young. I’ve heard the story of an epileptic girl attempting to climb a wall with no safety gear or even a mat underneath her. Kali and Ennis told me how Allison Argent’s arrow hit her but not you until you came back. If Marian hadn’t interfered, Kali would have won and killed her. And now, she is full of vengeance.”_

_“As someone who’s been down that road, I can tell you much about it. I can also tell you, unlike with me, there’s no dark druid who can be tricked into saving her from herself. She wants Aiden and Ethan dead. This is fair. So is her wanting me dead. Somewhat understandably, she wants Allison Argent and her father, Chris, dead, too.”_

_“But I believe you know her well enough to know that it won’t stop there. If she somehow manages to kill all of us, she’ll want to hunt all hunters. She’ll-”_

_“She wants peace and safety.”_

_“Perhaps. But she believes the only hope for such things is the death of all threats. She’ll never succeed. She’ll die, soon, Boyd, and the only question is whether you’ll follow her. As much as you love her, being so willing to almost thoughtlessly follow her into death isn’t healthy. I don’t think, deep in her heart and soul, she wants that for you.”_

_“So, I suggest you live. I suggest you let her die. You don’t have a cause. You don’t have a burning need propelling you from within. You’re just a seventeen-year-old boy in love with a girl. If you grow, if you live, there will be other women. There will be healthier forms of love. The future might just be glorious if you let it become.”_

_“Goodbye, Boyd.”_

_Deucalion walks out._

..

Opening his eyes, Boyd sends a text to Isaac, leaves, goes to the store, and starts concentrating his senses.

He finds a few drops of Erica’s blood, finds where Corey fell, and studies the tire tracks.

When he’s relatively sure which direction they took her, he starts walking.

All he knows for sure is, she isn’t dead, and for as long as she’s alive, he’s going to try to find and protect her.

…

In the station, Chris knocks on the sheriff’s door before opening it and coming in. “Hunters took Erica?”

Stiles glares at Isaac. “I told you not to call him!”

Isaac shrugs. “I can’t find Allison. He’s the next best-”

“No, no, he’s not. Boyd sent that text to warn you to stay away from all Argents. Literally, he warned you not to trust either Allison or him. Now, do I think Allison was involved? No. I’m not even completely sure Erica was taken by hunters, but we find one of them, we have a chance at figuring out what in the hell is going on. We don’t involve Gerard’s son, the brother of the woman who killed Derek’s almost entire family! Who thought his wife, the mother of his kid, dying would be better off than being what you are,” he finishes.

“I don’t know where Allison is.” Rubbing his face, Chris admits, “I’m worried. She never ignores a call from me, not since-”

Stiles gives him an unsympathetic look.

“But I know that she’d want me to prioritise helping two innocent teenagers.”

“They’re not innocent. They tried to kill Lydia, Erica tried to seduce your daughter’s boyfriend, which, I’m sure you aren’t too choked up about, but you know, still werewolf wronging an Argent. So, obligation fulfilled. You find your daughter, we’d appreciate a call, but otherwise, thanks for stopping by, now, leave, or I’m sure my dad can escort you to a nice cell. It is possible to trespass in a police station.”

Before Chris can respond, the sheriff, Kira, and Lydia come in.

Tentatively, Lydia asks, “Mr Argent, did Allison make it home after you texted her?”

“Texted her?”

“Earlier. She got a text from you and left.”

“I haven’t texted her.”

Lydia frowns. “Do you know who might have? She got a text from someone and left school.”

“Wait,” Stiles says. “You were talking to your mom after Corey didn’t show, right?”

“Yes.”

“And this happened after you came back?”

“No, I came back, and Boyd was closing the lab down. He told me someone texted her, and she left. He thought it was her dad.”

“What- what does this mean,” Kira asks. “Did the people who took Erica, did they lure Allison out?”

“Possibly. But my guess is Boyd lied,” is Stiles’s heavy response. “It sounds like he might have been keeping you out of the lab, Lydia. And Boyd, he’d know to dispose of her phone if he didn’t want anyone using it to trace her.”

Both Lydia and Chris pale.

…

When her dad had her kidnapped and tied up in the house she watched Kate die in, one of the more minor things Allison had hated him for was the fact her wrists had scars after she finally managed to free herself.

Before she got into archery, she always hated the idea of scars, permanent disfiguring of the skin. With the scars on her wrists, she worried people might think she was suicidal or self-harming. She even worried she wouldn’t be pretty anymore, though, she hadn’t been proud of this worry.

Now, twisting her wrists and feeling the blood coming from the cuffs cutting into her skin, she realises she’s going to have to dislocate, if not outright break, at least, one thumb in order to get free, and she’s grateful what her dad did somewhat prepared her for this.

If she hums to herself, the claustrophobic quiet doesn’t overwhelm her, but stopping, she takes as deep a breath as she can-

And almost jumps out of her skin at the undeniable feel of a human hand on her back.

The person pins her down, and she forces herself to stop flailing.

Taking their weight off, she’s confronted with the confusing fact she can easily move her hands, but the cuffs are still on.

She finds herself staring when her senses are suddenly assaulting her.

“You back?”

Managing to roll over, she finds the belt around her legs gone along with the chains connecting the cuffs and the gag.

Hunched on his knees, one of the twins stares down at her.

Managing to get up, she grabs her Chinese ring daggers and croaks out, “Did you know anything about who took Erica?”

“No.” He studies her. “Reyes is missing?”

“Hunters took her.” Gathering the rest of her weapons, she walks out as quickly as she can.

“Hey, wait!” The twin catches up with her. “Hunters? Aren’t you and your dad-”

“We didn’t. Boyd and the chimeras think we did. Or that I did, at least.” She glances over. “Thank you for helping me. I owe you. But I can’t talk right now.”

The other twin appears. “Hey. Whoa. What did you do to her?”

Glaring, the twin closest to her answers, “Nothing. I’m not sure who did, but hunters besides her and her dad took Reyes.”

“What’s he say about this?”

“I don’t have my phone, and he won’t answer from an unknown number.”

“You could still leave him a voicemail,” one of them points out.

Taking in her four slash tires, she groans.

“Need a ride?”

“No. Where I’m going, I can’t take two innocent-” She pauses. “I can’t take werewolves or anyone else supernatural.”

“Hey, be still.” One of them grabs her arms. “Ethan can get these off.”

Ethan produces his claws, and within about thirty seconds, the cuffs are completely off.

Unfortunately, as soon as the claws disappear, she forgets which is which.

“We could give you a ride to near wherever you need to go.”

She studies them. “Why are you both trying to help me?”

“Scott isn’t an alpha, but he has a pack, and despite us going after them, he told us the truth about Ennis. More importantly, Derek is, and he likes Scott. Even after what we did to Reyes and Boyd, he still helped save Aiden’s life from the oni. We need allies.”

Allison considers it.

If what Scott has with the others truly is a pack, she hopes he won’t decide to risk himself and potentially them if the twins ever are in serious danger. A large part of what Boyd, Erica, and Isaac have suffered is on her and her family, but she still maintains Derek leaves much to be desired as an alpha, and therefore, likely wouldn’t make much of an ally for them. Jackson is the ultimate proof of this.

Yet, even after what _she_ did, Derek’s protected her and saved her life, too.

“A ride would be nice. Thank you.”

…

Leaving Kira and her parents at the station, Chris takes Stiles, Lydia, and Isaac to the school, and they find the lab completely empty.

Chris’s phone vibrates.

Opening it, he finds a text with the header: _From Allison_.

_Dad, Boyd thinks that I had hunters kidnap Erica. He’s going to come for you. I have to take care of something. I’ll tell you about it when it’s done._

_Above all, remember the code._

_Allie A._

Swallowing, Chris interrupts the teenagers’ conversation. “I don’t know where Allison is, but she’s safe. She wants me to try to find Erica.”

“What, what did she say,” Stiles demands. “If that was a text, how do you know…”

…

Despite not trusting or particularly liking Corey, Liam is a good friend.

“My dad told me the paediatrics ward is having a movie night with pizza and ice-cream tonight. Want to crash it?”

“Liam."

“Or we could go to Sinema.”

Shaking his head, Mason presses closer when Liam puts an arm over his shoulders. “Dude, don’t worry about it. We weren’t even boyfriends. I wish I knew why exactly he and the other chimeras left, but it- doesn’t matter. Keep practising. I’m going to watch you and imagine how good Brett will look when you kick his ass next weekend. Think he’ll need some comforting?”

“I always appreciate the fact you want one of the ones who made my life a living hell at Devenford,” Liam huffs.

“Yeah, I want him, but you know I’m totally on your side when it comes to lacrosse. I think you can and should wipe the field with him.”

“Alright,” Liam says. “You change your mind, we’ll go do something.”

“Thanks.”

Getting up, Liam starts practising.

Brett might be a great choice, even with his rivalry with Liam, if not for the fact Corey exists and decided to become part of Mason’s life. He wonders if he’d stopped protesting against them being boyfriends if Corey wouldn’t have left.

Trying to concentrate on Liam, he finds himself thinking about how Corey won’t be in the game next weekend. Realistically, the team won’t suffer for it, but it won’t be the same without him.

He wonders if Kira knew before he got the text. He supposes she and he aren’t really friends, and maybe, she didn’t know he and Corey were serious (or more accurately that he wanted them to be but was too stupid to take what Corey consistently offered). If she did, though, it would have been nice of her to say something when she and the rest of the team were here with Liam.

Suddenly, Liam runs over. “Mason.”

Quickly getting up, he asks, “What is it?”

“I’m not sure. I thought I heard Chris Argent.”

“Chris Argent, as in Chris Argent, the hunter Derek told us to try to steer clear of?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, peds ward sounds good,” Mason declares. “Let’s go.”

Derek hadn’t said anything outright bad about Allison’s dad or Allison, but Mason had gotten the strong feeling he didn’t care for either one. He’d explained about the Argent code and warned Mason to never let Liam fall out of it.

They’re almost to his car when he hears, “What in the hell are you doing here?”

Looking over, they see Stiles, Isaac, Lydia, and Chris Argent.

Stiles glares at Liam. “Well?”

“Just getting in some extra practise.” He frowns. “Noticed you weren’t there earlier. Scott, I can understand, he’s helping with animal surgery, but what’s your and Isaac’s excuse?”

“Your dad told me the movie the team was going to started thirty minutes ago! And let me tell you, he wasn’t happy having to look that up! I swear-”

“Why are you talking to my dad?”

“What’s going on,” Mason interjects.

“Hunters took Erica,” Chris Argent answers. “Boyd mistakenly believes it was Allison. Have either of you seen him?”

“Nice of your boyfriend to include that in text,” Liam sarcastically declares.

“He isn’t my boyfriend.”

“He will be once we get him back. That’s probably why they left, isn’t it?”

Mason nods. “Corey sent me a text telling me that he, Theo, and Tracy were leaving town. That’s why we didn’t go to the movies. I didn’t feel up to it.”

“Okay, you need to text him-” Stiles starts.

“I can’t. He doesn’t have unlimited texting, and his phone is full. I can never get him to delete texts once he reads them. I’ve tried Tracy and Theo, but neither of them will pick up or respond to my texts.”

Chris Argent sighs. “What- which one is Corey, again?”

“He has supernaturally enhanced chameleon DNA,” Mason answers. “It’s almost like a werelizard minus the kanima aspects, except for the fact he doesn’t have were-shifting abilities.”

Chris Argent looks sorry he asked.

“Speaking of, did this happen before or after- Did he meet you with Tracy’s venom,” he asks Lydia.

“That’s a long story,” she answers.

“You two are coming to the station with us,” Chris Argent says.

…

Allison sets her helmet on the stand beside the doorway.

“Hello, sweetheart.”

She steps in. “Gerard.”

He looks at the twins. “You’ve brought more wolves I see. Who are they? Where’s Scott?”

The one on her left asks, “What is he?”

“Yeah, we know he’s something, but what?”

“Their names are Aiden and Ethan. They were once part of Deucalion’s pack. Do you two know how Deucalion was blinded?”

Looking at her wearily, they shake their heads.

“He did it. He also played a part in the destruction of Ennis’s pack.” Staring into Gerard’s eyes, she says, “I’m going to ask you a question, and if I have reason to believe you’re lying, I’m going to let them kill you. Our family’s old code was specifically designed to put down those like you. If you tell the truth, I’ll take them and leave.”

“And what, I wonder, would your father say about all this?”

“As long as I come home alive and human, I have a feeling he won’t say much, if anything, about your death. Have you been using my name to send hunters after people in the supernatural community?”

…

“Sheriff.”

Rubbing his eyes, Sheriff Stilinski stops.

One of his new deputies, a Parrish something, holds a coffee cup out.

Accepting it, he takes a grateful sip, and discovering his preferred brand prepared and heated to perfection, he decides he might just like this particular newbie. “Thank you, Parrish. Is everything holding up out here?”

“Yes, sir. Anything I can do to help in there?” He nods towards the sheriff’s office.

Inside, Chris Argent is talking animatedly on his cell phone, Lydia is making sure his boy’s pacing doesn’t involve bumping into anything or anyone, and Mason and Liam seem to be sitting quietly.

“Isaac Lahey hasn’t left the station, has he?” The Yukimuras have taken Kira to go talk to someone Mrs Yukimura thinks might have information, and he knows they’ll protect their daughter and that Deaton will watch out for Scott, but with people kidnapping teenagers, he doesn’t like the thought of any of the potential targets being alone out there. 

“No, I was just in the bathroom.”

He exhales. To Parrish, he says, “We’re good,” before guiding Isaac back to the office.

…

Once Isaac and the sheriff come back in, Chris says, “I talked to Araya Calavera. For all she and I don’t see eye-to-eye, she wouldn’t lie to me. This wasn’t her or, to her knowledge, any other major hunter family. However, she has heard rumours of freelancers being near here.”

“How do we find out about these freelancers,” the sheriff asks.

“I still say the best way is to try tracking Boyd and Erica’s scents,” Isaac interjects.

“We go online,” Lydia says. “That’s how you and your wife brought most hunters down here, isn’t it, Mr Argent?”

“Yes, but unfortunately, my wife and Allison have always done much better at navigating the internet than I have.”                                                                                        

The sheriff gives him a sympathetic look.

“What about Danny? Ethan’s boyfriend?” Mason looks over at Stiles. “Haven’t you gotten him to help before with that kind of thing?”

“We’re not bringing any humans not in the know, especially teenagers, into this,” Sheriff Stilinski firmly declares.

Stiles groans. “There’s a possibility. One none of us would like, but uh, not a teenager or a human, so.”

…

Peter Hale strolls into the office. “I’d expect nothing less from Stiles, but you, Isaac? The girl Derek bit has been taken by hunters, one of the boys he bit is off-grid, and I hear about it from Stiles, only when he finds himself with little-to-no options? Why didn’t you tell me right away?”

“Because, there was a chance Allison played a part, but she didn’t. Also, Derek wisely warned all three to stay the hell away from you. Whether they’re still his or not, you aren’t.”

“Oh, trust me, yes, I am.” He looks around. “And where’s the lovely Lydia Martin?”

“Away from you.”

Shrugging, Peter sits down and adjusts his laptop. “Liam. Liam’s little human friend.”

“Mason. Mason Hewitt. So, you came back to life, like months after you were buried? It wasn’t a case of an extended-”

Putting a hand on Mason’s shoulder, Isaac shakes his head. “Now isn’t the time.”

Peter frowns.

“What is it,” Chris asks.

“Something very bad,” Peter mutters. “Someone has put a trace on the cell phones and various electronics of a significant number of Beacon Hill citizens. Now, this could have faraway government backing, but right now, let’s say it’s not the government. I recognise many of these names. They’re supernatural, and in the case of you and Allison, associated with the supernatural.”

Panic and fear cross the faces of Isaac, Liam, and Mason, and stone-faced, Stiles says, “Take the batteries out, now.”

“Mine can’t be opened without a-” Liam starts.

“Hand it over,” Stiles orders. “I’m going to get Lydia’s and see about getting burners.” Pausing at the door, he asks, “Is my dad-”

“No,” Peter answers. “Your dad’s has law enforcement coding in his. I don’t doubt whoever’s doing this might be able to get around it, but this person or these people have made the wise choice not to target any law enforcement. My guess is, in case they got caught.”

Stiles leaves.

“I’ve found Boyd and Erica’s phones,” Peter continues. “Hers is off. His is on the move. Allison- there was a trace on her, but either the battery’s out, now, or the phone’s otherwise been disconnected from the trace.”

“I’ll get the sheriff,” Chris says.

“Corey Bryant. What about him,” Mason asks.

“Yep, found him. He, a Tracy Stewart, and Theo Raeken are all in close proximity to one another and on the move. The trace might not last much longer, however. They’re already out of Beacon Hills, and I don’t know how far and wide it extends.”

…

“Are you sure you should be taking Isaac,” the sheriff asks.

“Yes,” Isaac answers.

Chris nods. “I don’t particularly like it, either, but when I get Erica out, she could be feral, again. Isaac has the best chance at bringing her back without using weapons.”

“Alright. I’ll get Theo and the other two.”

“I’ll go with you,” Mason says. At their looks, he adds, “Please. I need to see Corey, and- I might be able to get him to listen. If you can’t convince them, Sheriff- they won’t be coming back. You literally can’t just put them in cuffs and put them in the back of your squad car.”

“I like this idea even less than I like taking Isaac," Chris says, "but if this Corey trusts Mason- In addition, Mason’s human. Even the most ruthless of hunters tend to avoid putting humans in danger, especially teenagers and children. With human law enforcement and a human teenager, this will likely ensure the chimeras are brought back safely.”

“Fine,” the sheriff grits out.

“Then, I’m going, too,” Liam says.

“No." The sheriff walks out of his office.

Mason and Liam follow, and Mason says, “Liam, I’ll be okay. You don’t need to-”

“Do you really think I’d let you go alone? Look, I might not like or trust Corey, but I believe he cares about you. Theo and Tracy- Theo might, but he’s always going to put them first. Tracy, she only cares about them. And if hunters don’t decide to leave you and the sheriff alone-”

Taking a breath, Sheriff Stilinski glances over. “I hate the idea of taking Mason, but I recognise it might truly be necessary to get three kids out of danger. There’s no way in hell I’m unnecessarily risking two teenage lives. You’re staying, Liam, or I will put you in a cell.”

“With all due respect, you think I can’t get out? You think my mom and dad won’t go after your badge if you do?”

“Liam!” Mason exclaims.

“Sheriff Stilinski!”

They all stop, turn, and see Deputy Parrish.

“Not now, deputy. I have-”

“Sir, this is important.”

The sheriff groans. “You have two minutes. And you two, stay right here.”

He and Parrish find a quiet spot, and Parrish simply asks, “What’s going on, sir?”

“Theo Raeken, Tracy Stewart, and Corey Bryant have all left town. Run away from home, you might say. The first two are both seventeen, and Corey’s sixteen. Theo and Tracy have both had trouble with the law before, and Tracy and Corey have both suffered severe medical issues in the past. This is against protocol, and you have every right to report me, but I’m taking a frankly stupid, risky gamble and hoping bringing Corey’s boyfriend along will help convince the kids to come back with me.”

“I can take Liam and follow behind.”

Sheriff Stilinski stares.

Parrish shifts. “Look, Sheriff- I don’t know exactly what’s going on in this town. I know there’s more than meets the eye and that you’re more clued in than most of the department. With all due respect, there is a possibility you are corrupt. But that isn’t what my gut tells me. I believe you’re a good officer, and that whatever your reason for keeping what you know quiet, it’s because you’ve come to the well-thought out conclusion it’s better for everyone that you do.”

“So, right now, I’m not asking what the full story is. But you never let any of us go without backup, and I can provide that while keeping Liam safe.”

They look over at Liam and Mason.

“I don’t know if he could get out, but I do know, if he does, he’ll find a way to follow.”

“Alright, look, Parrish.” The sheriff turns back. “You stay a good distance behind. I honestly don’t know what could happen, but if something does- if you there’s any way for you to get Mason or any of the kids without risking Liam, do it. But don’t put Liam in danger trying to save anyone. He is your priority. I will do everything I can to protect the other kids. And Parrish?”

“Sir?”

“I was a soldier, too. The difference between out there in some foreign land and your duties as an officer of the law is, when civilians are involved, sometimes, you do leave your fellow man or woman alone. I’m ordering you: If something happens, you get as many as the kids as you can, and you get them to safety. You don’t worry about me. You leave me behind.”

Swallowing, Parrish nods. “I promise I’ll do everything I can to keep Liam and the others safe.”       

Nodding, he leads Parrish over. “Liam, you’re riding with Deputy Parrish. He’ll be following behind me and Mason.”

Outside, Liam starts to get in the front seat, but the sheriff closes the door and opens the back. “No. You’re in the backseat, you’re wearing your seatbelt, and you’re going to do whatever Deputy Parrish tells you.”

Liam nods.

Coming over, Mason gives him a quick hug.

…

“It’s unlikely Erica will be feral.”

Isaac shakes his head. “I understand why Allison did what she did. Before I was a werewolf, when my mom and brother died, I didn’t handle either time very well. When I got the bite, it’s not an excuse, but what my dad did played a part in all I did.”

“But none of us but her are ever going to trust you. Which I know, you don’t care, but I just thought I’d tell you. You don’t need to act like you care. You don’t need to be nice to us. Before Allison lost her mom, she didn’t agree with what you and other hunters did. Someday, she might think the same, again, but right now, she doesn’t.”

Chris swallows.

“Wait. That’s Boyd.”

Looking over, Chris sees a dark blur moving forward.

“He’s tracking her scent, and it’s working.”

“He’s much faster than a human, but for a werewolf-”

“Yeah, I know. I’m not very fast, either. Erica’s the fastest of us. She was on track in junior high, but her parents made her stop when her epilepsy got worse.”

Speeding up, Chris honks his horn, and when Boyd pauses, Isaac jumps out.

Frowning, Chris stops the car completely.

…

“Someone has been tracking the phones of most supernatural people in Beacon Hills. Whoever it is, they took Erica, not the Argents. The Argents were being tracked, too.”

Getting his phone out, Boyd takes the battery out.

“We have a good idea where Erica is. Come with us, Boyd.”

Boyd scoffs.

Smiling slightly, Isaac tilts his head. “We’ll get there before you do. Allison isn’t in the car. And you know I’m not lying about anything. This isn’t a trap. Let’s go get Erica. Get in the car.”

Taking a breath, Boyd nods.

He gets in the backseat, and Isaac climbs in next to him.

“Boyd,” Chris greets.

Not looking at him, Boyd doesn’t respond.

…

In the dusky evening light, Corey and Theo doze until blaring sirens and flashing lights jolt them awake.

“Damn it,” Tracy mutters. Pulling over, she says, “I wasn’t speeding!”

She looks back at Theo.

He nods.

Corey swallows when her claws appear.

Rolling down her window, she says, “It’s the only way.”

They all jump when “Corey!” fills the air, and Mason comes running up.

As Tracy quickly sets her hands down and retracts her claws, behind him, a disgruntled looking Sheriff Stilnski approaches, and Mason peers into the backseat. “I’m so glad we- Why is Theo sitting in your lap?”

Reaching past him, the sheriff unlocks the door and opens the backdoor. “All three of you out,” he orders.

They comply, and he smiles slightly at the short kiss and longer hug Mason and Corey share. Then, looking down at the wolf sitting on the ground, he represses a groan. “You are Theo Raeken, aren’t you?”

Barking (and since when do wolves bark?), the wolf nods.

“He looks like a wolf, but technically, he’s a coywolf,” Mason says.

“Coy. That’s coyote. Yeah, that does make a little more sense.” Groaning, he says, “Actually, no, it doesn’t, but anyway…” He lays out what the situation is. “So, the safest place for all of you is back in Beacon Hills.”

Tracy nods. “We’ll follow you back.”

“Wrong. Lock the doors, and I’ll have someone come get the SUV.” Opening the back and front passenger side doors of the squad car, he says, “Boys, you three are in the back. Tracy, you can take the front.”

Tracy grabs Theo’s clothes and shoes, Mason, Corey, and Theo get in the backseat, and after Tracy gets in, the sheriff shuts both doors. Getting in, he puts his seatbelt on and looks at them. “Seatbelts all on?”

Aside from Theo, the three all do.

Turning off the siren, he makes a U-Turn and heads back with the lights flashing.

…

Parking in front of an old building, Chris orders, “Stay in the car.”

“We’re not letting you go in alone. Besides, Erica-”

Chris readies his gun. “I need someone ready to drive, if necessary. And if Erica is feral, I’ll get her out, and you two can handle her. But I’m not risking either of you or any humans inside. This isn’t about vengeance. It’s a rescue mission. If I have to, I won’t hesitate to shoot, but I’m going to try my hardest to make sure no blood is shed. Now, when I get out, one of you get behind the wheel, and the other be ready to open the backdoor. Keep the doors locked until I or Erica get near the car.”

…

After Chris locks all the hunters in a room, he quickly finds Erica lying on the floor with electrified chains around her wrists.

Near her, with electrified chains and IV drip, an Asian boy sits near her.

“The seizures are getting worse,” the boy slurs. “Better knock her out properly, if you’re going to take her. Safer for you, kinder for her.”

Keeping a wary eye on him, Chris turns off the electricity, goes over, and kneels down. “Erica. Can you hear me?”

“’las ‘round?”

“No,” he answers.

“’od.”

Undoing the chains, he says, “I’m going to pick you up.”

When he does, she looks up at him with suspicion. “Why’s- when did Boyd get here?”

“He and Isaac came with me. Did you ever think they wouldn’t?” At the doorway, he pauses and looks at the boy before continuing on.

…

Handing Erica to Boyd, Chris says, “Electricity. She might have more seizures. They might have drugged her with something, too. Make her comfortable. I need to go back in.”

From the driver’s seat, Isaac demands, “What? Why?”

“I’m not back in five minutes, drive,” Chris orders.

Inside, he goes in and checks the building before going back to the boy and kneeling down. “I’m Chris Argent. What’s your name?”

“Jun'ichi Yoshimoto. I go by Jay.”

“Do you know what’s in the IV?”

There’s a barely noticeable shrug.

“Is it medicine you need? Will it hurt you if I take it out?”

Giving a startled look, Jay lets out a weak chuckle. “The kind thing would be a bullet through the head or heart.” Blue eyes briefly replace brown. “I killed a human, but it was probably painless.”

Chris hesitates.

Then, he carefully takes the IV out. “You’re coming with me.”

“I can’t walk.”

Standing, Chris picks him up.

…

Outside, Boyd asks, “Who’s this?”

“Jay Yoshimoto. He’s coming with us.”

Erica gives a weak wave.

Climbing in, Boyd sets her on his lap, and Chris places Jay on the floor.

…

“He’s telling the truth,” one of the twins says.

Gerard studies his granddaughter with a detached interest. Sitting across him with the twins standing flanking each side, she almost looks like Katie. Victoria was everything a hunter should be: poised, disciplined, judicious, and fearless, but wars have never been won by such qualities, no matter what the history books might say.

He’s afraid, now, the wrong side might win, now that Allison is so close to fully embracing it.

“Tell me, sweetheart, you invoked our code, the old one, the one I still hold to, when threatening to kill me. What about your new one?”

“If you held to the old code, you would have died a long time ago,” is the cold reply. “And I’m keeping the new. If you're ever a threat to innocent lives, again, putting you down would make me very happy. It won’t be hollow the way it was when I shot arrows at Erica and Boyd and tortured them in my basement. But as long as you’re a harmless, goo-filled old man trapped in this place, I can live with letting you be.”

“And what do you think is going to happen when these wolves drop you off? Do you think you can keep them from coming back?”

A phone dings.

One of the twins hands it to her. “Your dad.”

She reads, and then, stands. “Erica’s safe. Let’s go.”

“Do me the courtesy of answering before you do.”

Resolute eyes bore into his. “I have to get blood on my hands eventually, don’t I?” She lets out a small sound. “If I hadn’t kept seeing Scott, my mother wouldn’t have died the way she did. But I don’t hold any responsibility or culpability for that."

"She made the choice to try to kill a sixteen-year-old boy, a yellow-eyed beta who’d never killed or seriously hurt a human. Her fight with Derek weakened her, and she stumbled into a part of town she didn’t know very well. I don’t know if the one who bit her knew she was a hunter, if they were just like Peter Hale, going around mindlessly biting people, or if there was some other reason. I do know, she sat on my bed and made the choice to slide a knife into her heart.”

“I’m going to keep trying to make peace and alliances with the supernatural, Gerard. I’m going to save the innocent and try to stop those harming others without death. I’m going to fail, on occasion, when it comes to both. When it comes to you, though, give me a reason to see you dead. Any reason. If that reason is that some werewolf or other supernatural person wanting revenge found out where you are-” She shrugs. “They won’t tell Erica and Boyd. I’ll make sure of that.”

She fully is lost, he realises. Still, he does have pride in how truly strong she’s become. Unlike her mother and, especially, her father, she’s inherited Kate’s unbreakable spirit. When it comes time, he’ll hate having to see her die, but at least, there’s hope the Argent spirit will manifest in a younger generation.

“What if one or both of these twins were the ones who bit your mother?”

The twin on the left tenses. “We didn’t.”

“Neither of us have ever bitten someone,” the one on the right adds.

This is true, he’d wager, but he can also see they know more about Victoria being bitten than they’re saying. He wonders if she does, too. He supposes he can’t blame her if she doesn’t. Katie was as sharp as a whip and could both manipulate and spot manipulation at the drop of a hat, but she had her blind spots, too.

His granddaughter was recently cuffed, her phone, and possibly, her car, too, taken, and in her mind, fairness must be applied to these two wolves who broke the chains and gave up a helmet to protect her frailer human head.

He wishes so badly Kate was here. If only she hadn’t died…

…

“You didn’t mention Kira, Liam, and the chimeras,” one of the twins says.

Allison fastens her helmet. “As far as I know, he doesn’t know about them. I’m not going to be the one to make him aware of them.” She glances between them. “Don’t kill him. He couldn’t protect himself. Making him believe the Argent code didn’t extend to him was beneficial, but," she sighs, "it does.”

“We don’t have any love lost for Deucalion.”

“Fair,” she comments.

…

Erica and Boyd get Jay set down on the McCall couch.

“I need to get out of here,” Boyd quietly tells Erica.

“Why?”

“I put my claws against Allison’s neck, tied her up, and told her I was going to kill her father.”

She grabs his hand, and they start to walk out, only for Allison and the twins to come through the door.

“You look like you’re in a hurry,” one of the twins comments.

“I wonder why,” the other adds.

Bringing a claw up, Erica starts to slash at one of them.

Theo grabs her wrist. “Supernaturals and hunters in one room. Right now, they’re more on the side of hunters than us. And so are the humans. Don’t make it worse for yourself and Boyd. For us.”

He walks away, Lydia walks in with a textbook, and ignoring Lydia’s sputtering as she takes it, Erica hurls it at Theo.

Turning, he catches it, and with her skin scaly, her eyes glowing, and her claws at the ready, Tracy steps between him and Erica and stares down at the latter.

Shifting, Erica growls and glares back.

“Got a say, I really admire her spirit,” Theo comments. “But does she not realise she’s several feet shorter, only weighs about a hundred pounds, and that Tracy has venom in her claws, or does she just not care?”

Boyd and Allison share a look.

“She knows,” Allison answers. “And knowing only makes her care _more_.”

Not taking her eyes off Tracy, Erica declares, “Standing right here! Perfectly capable of hearing.”

Chuckling, Theo says, “Tracy.”

Keeping her eyes on Erica, Tracy retreats.

…

“I can’t believe you didn’t call or come and get me,” Scott grumbles.

“Dude, realistically, how many times do you think you’re going to get to be part of a mountain lion surgery,” Stiles replies. “We got it. Everyone’s safe. Including Theo, who I still think had a hand in this. Not sure about the chimeras, but I definitely wouldn’t put it past Tracy.”

From her place in Theo’s lap, Tracy raises an eyebrow at them.

“Right, and I’ve got to remember the super-hearing before I speak. I really do.”

“And regular people hearing,” Lydia quips.

They look over at her.

“Erica’s fine. Her co-captive, on the other hand, isn’t healing as fast as he should.” She holds up a slide of blood. “I’m going to take this for testing. Keep him here until I call, and call me if he starts to get worse.”

“I’ll go with you,” Stiles says.

As they start to leave, Allison comes over. “Be careful.”

“I’ll be fine. Remember, I’m staying with you tonight,” Lydia says.

Nodding, Allison gives her a quick hug.

…

Chris looks around the room.

Erica is sitting on Boyd’s lap on the couch, and on the other end, Jay is sitting slumped. Theo and Tracy are in an armchair. Mason and Corey are sitting pressed shoulder-to-shoulder against the wall with their hands clasped. The twins are standing near Allison, and Scott and Isaac have taken Liam home.

Before he can walk over to Allison, the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it,” he says.

After opening the door, however, he really wishes he hadn’t.

Resting his hand on his gun, he demands, “How in the hell did you get here so fast?”

“Move aside, Christopher.” Araya pushes past him with her hunters following. “We have a plane, now.”

“How comforting,” he mutters.

“You have no business-”

“Hello, Allison,” Araya says.

Allison politely nods. “Ms Calavera.”

“Call me Araya. We came to speak to you.”

“Don’t involve her,” Chris snaps.

Giving him a considering look, Araya says, “Either she’s the Argent leader, or she’s not. If she’s not, you have no new code, and by the rights of ours, the one the Argents have followed for centuries, we’ll be taking three wolves, a werecoyote, and two chimeras with us.”

He doesn’t find it funny, but Chris almost laughs at the fact Mason and Corey suddenly disappear.

“You’re not taking anyone,” Allison says.

“We’ll see.”

Araya walks over to the couch. Kneeling in front of Erica and Boyd, she says, “Not this one. Her abduction was that. An unauthorised attack. Show me your eyes.”

Two sets of yellow eyes stare at her, and she smiles. “Dangerous, but just as beautiful as your hair. Do you know what blue means?”

“Killing an innocent,” Erica answers.

“Not quite. The Hales have an interest in that continuing to be accepted.”

“The Hales are dead,” Boyd flatly interjects.

“Then, who turned you? Who activated the banshee? So long as one lives, the family lives. It’s something hunters, wolves, coyotes, and foxes all agree on.” Using Erica’s legs to steady herself as she gets down fully on her knees, she says, “A wolf and coyote can gain power without killing. There are different ways to take pain. You can simply take pain. You can take little bits of life and power along with the pain. And some can even find a way to transfer some of themselves, their life and power, as they take the pain. When alphas lose their spark, they are blue, even if they’ve never killed.”

“If a werewolf kills with a gun or another human weapon, their eyes stay the same. If they use claws or fangs, some of the life they’ve taken goes into them. With animals, it usually isn’t enough to cause a change. Humans and other creatures who can appear human or human-like is. And innocence has nothing to do with any of this. Whether the dead was innocent or not, some of them is still transferred.”    

Playing with Erica’s hair, she says, “Try to keep them that way, mijita. Blue is more powerful, but you’re already powerful enough as yourself. Red doesn’t make you a leader. It just shows that death transforms all.”

Standing, she says, “But this other one, and these two.” She waves towards Theo and Tracy. “The school has cameras, Allison. We saw what he did. What these two helped him and encouraged him in doing. The little invisible boy is harmless. He simply relayed what he deemed to be truthful. But do you think what the others did is right?”

Chris wishes he knew the whole story. Allison has clear signs on her wrist of being handcuffed, but what else- She’s texting, now, and he hopes Lydia and Stiles simply dismantle the cameras and not erase what’s already been recorded. As much as he doesn’t want to see what happened, he needs to.

Allison finishes her text. “No.” Hand going up to her neck, she massages her throat. “So much of what’s happened isn’t right. Scott being bitten. Peter Hale killing and biting people and possessing my friend. Boyd and Erica trying to kill her. My other friend being possessed. The Dread Doctors. A kanima killing people. My mother trying to kill my boyfriend. My mother killing herself because of some damn rule laid out centuries ago.”

“What I’ve learned the hard way is that how people deal with what’s happened to them might be the most important thing. Theo and Tracy both tried to diffuse the situation. It wasn’t until they were convinced that I was out to capture or worse all supernatural people that they gave Boyd advice before trying to save themselves. And-” She laughs slightly. “I have the feeling, as someone who’s been involved in battles before, you’d say it was good advice. If he was going to stay and fight-”

She shakes her head, and he wants so badly to go over and pull her into a hug.

“As for Boyd, even if he agrees what he did is wrong, he’s not sorry for it. Nothing will make him be. He’ll never trust us, and he’s proven we can never fully trust him. There might come a day he crosses too big a line, but I’ve had worse. There are things I’ll never be punished for that some would say I should be. So, in this instance, I’m extending that to him. He didn’t kill or permanently injure me, and he’s never gone after any human he believed was innocent. You’re not taking him.”

Frowning, Araya tuts. Looking down at the two, she says, “Very well. This little one can keep her novio for, now.” She looks back over. “However, aside from what happened in the lab, these two chimeras have killed before.”

“Theo killed another chimera in defence of a human. Tracy was under the influence of the Dread Doctors. Just like Jackson, she wasn’t responsible for her actions. Since they were dispatched, she has full control.”

“We’ll just take the twins and Mr Yoshimoto, then.”

“Wrong,” Allison says.

Araya’s sharp smile appears, and Chris just barely manages to repress a groan.

“I notice Scott McCall, Isaac Lahey, Stiles Stilinski, and Lydia Martin aren’t here. I’m not sure they did anything to Stilinski, but we’d listen if he said otherwise. Yet, while it’s not common, there is a precedence for hunters listening to the testimony of supernatural creatures against others. These alpha twins effectively broke up Derek Hale’s pack. McCall risked his life to protect Lahey from them. They captured and held these two for months. On another note, whatever their feelings for the two in question, they began dating your friend, Lydia Martin, and a human boy, thus putting them in danger. That in addition to the fact they only began dating them, because, their alpha thought one of them might be useful.”

“We can wait, mija, for the others to come. And if even one person targeted asks, you will not stop us from taking the twins. For now, we respect your code. But that ends the second you try to stop us from giving a victim the justice they deserve.”

Everyone turns to look at Erica, and Chris feels a sense of resignation flow through him. He’ll admit, he doesn’t tend to think of werewolf teenagers as minors, but it suddenly hits him, Erica is, in many ways, still a child. She’s been leaving Allison alone, he knows, and maybe, with the twins gone, there will be real peace at school and in the town both, but- She’s a kid, yet again, being handed too much power she can’t possibly foresee the consequence of utilising.

“Scott will say no,” Allison says. “Erica speaks for Boyd, and Isaac- either he’ll say no, or she speaks for him, too. He won’t go against both.”

“You’ve had your say. Now, let me talk to her. Until she says something directly to you, you don’t get to take what she says as agreement or disagreement. You can listen, but don’t interfere.”

“Unless there’s true cause, I won’t,” Araya agrees.

Allison walks over to the couch, and then, turns, goes to the kitchen, and comes back with a chair. Placing it in front of Erica and Boyd, she sits down.

“Do you want them to take the twins, Erica?”

Erica scowls. “You know that I do.” She starts to look over at Araya.

“Listen to me, Erica, with all your senses.” Taking a deep breath, she looks Erica in the eyes. “If they take the twins, I won’t try to stop them. I won’t try to rescue them. I can’t speak for the others, but I promise, I’ll respect your decision. Boyd said you want peace and safety. I’m the last person who can tell you what will and won’t give you that.”

“If they take them, it’s guaranteed they’ll cut them both in half. But it might not be right away. The Calaveras like to do experiments. They might torture them for a lot longer and a whole lot more than I did you and Boyd. If you want vengeance or if you truly believe this will give you what you need or if you genuinely think that having them taken is the right thing, then- Boyd stood in front of you and took arrows for you. You’re the only one who can speak for the twins. Everyone else says no, but you heard her, it only takes one person to say yes.”

“You and Boyd are alive. Isaac and Derek are alive. After everything the twins have done, I’m willing to bet them being alphas is the only reason everyone they’ve pissed off and hurt over the years haven’t struck. They haven’t given you any reason to stick up for them, let alone for you to forgive them.”

“All I’m asking is that you really think about this. If you let them go and they do more bad things, that’s on them. They had the choice and chance to change, and they didn’t. Eventually, someone will kill them or lock them up for it. But if you say yes, knowing that the Calaveras will kill and possibly torture them, you’ll be part of all that. It doesn’t matter that your eyes won’t change. It doesn’t matter no human court of law would find you guilty. You’ll have helped kill two people.”

“No more you and Boyd coming up with plans after school, Erica. No more impulsive attempts. Sitting here with them standing helpless over there, yes or no, are you going to kill them?"

Chris feels a pang. His beautiful little girl has fully become a woman, he realises with pride, and her mother isn’t here to see it. More than anything, he wishes Victoria were here right now, just for this one moment.

Erica stares at the twins.

He wishes he knew whether she’s deliberately doing this to make them suffer or if she’s truly giving Allison’s words thought.

Finally, she looks at Araya. “No. I hate them, and I want them dead, but you taking them wouldn’t be justice.”

Boyd looks vaguely surprised, but Chris can’t get any other read on him. True to what Allison predicted, however, it’s clear he isn’t going to speak.

Araya sighs. “Very well.” She looks at them. “But know, that if either of you ever make your own wolf, we’ll be back.”

“Now, we will be taking the coyote. No discussion. He killed an innocent, defenceless woman, and we have proof.”

“My father and I will examine this proof thoroughly before you take him anywhere.”

Chris wonders if he should be concerned with how nonchalant Jay continues to remain throughout.

“What did you? Who did you kill,” Erica asks Jay.

“I expected nothing less,” Araya says. “We brought a DVD. Where’s a good place to set up Severo’s laptop?”

Jay makes an indignant noise. “Of course, you’d have cameras in my grandmother’s room.” Looking over at Erica, he answers, “My grandmother.”

The look Erica gives him isn’t good.

“Corey and I don’t need to see this.”

Everyone jumps and looks over at where Mason and Corey have stood up.

“Uh, so, we’ll just be in Isaac’s room,” Mason continues. Leading Corey by hand, he heads upstairs.

The laptop’s set up, and in a hospital room, with Jay sitting nearby, a nurse performs last rites on an elderly woman. After she’s done, a doctor removes tubing and injects something in an IV.

Taking Jay’s hand, the nurse says, “It won’t be long, sweetheart. We can only give her enough morphine to ensure she’s not in any pain, but once her body stops receiving nutrients- It won’t be long.”

“I know it won’t,” Jay says. “Thank you.”

A large part of him is tempted to do what Mason did for his boyfriend and shield his daughter from seeing what comes next, but Allison is standing straight and watching with a critical eye.

Once the doctor and nurse leave, Jay pulls the curtains on all the windows shut, kneels down on the floor, murmurs a prayer Chris can’t quite make out, and then, moves the chair near his grandmother’s bed closer. Leaning down, he kisses her forehead and cheeks. “I love you, Obaasan.”

Wrapping one hand around hers, he places the other on her cheek and closes his eyes.

Black veins appear on his arms, and less than five minutes later, his eyes snap open, and yellow changes to blue.

The machinery goes off, and wiping away his tears, Jay lets go of her hand, opens the nightstand and gets out a necklace, and slips out as medical personnel is entering.

When the laptop’s closed, Erica leaves Boyd’s lap and wraps around Jay.

Briefly tensing, Jay quickly returns the embrace.

“This happened in California,” Araya says. “You can call the hospital. Even if you personally don’t condemn what he did, he broke human law, yet, because of how he did it, he cannot be tried in human court. It’s acceptable, under certain circumstances, to withhold medical treatment and passively let a person die. But deliberate, direct ending of a life is illegal.”

Allison gives him a questioning look.

“I’d like to ask some questions,” he says.

“Of course,” Araya replies.

“Jay, your grandmother was going to die very soon. Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know for sure that she wasn’t feeling pain. No one knows for sure. I can’t say that what I did didn’t cause her pain, either, but if it did, it was over quickly. It could have taken anything from a few minutes to several weeks for her body to completely shut down.”

“And your grandmother, what was she?”

“Human. If that’s you trying to figure out exactly what I am, just ask. My dad was a werecoyote. My mom was human. I can’t do a full shift.”

“What about your parents?”

“Hunters,” is the toneless reply. “My mom died protecting my dad.”

“He was protecting a wendigo who killed hunters,” Severo says.

“She killed those hunters after they raped her daughter,” Jay calmly retorts. “Her name was Maria Anita Hayes, and hunters captured her on her way home from her job. They kept her for three days, and one of them raped her. The head of the Dixon family said there was no proof, but there would have been proof if a car with no licence plates running her down hadn’t caused her to miscarry.”

Feeling sick, Chris notes, “You’re speaking of her in past tense.” He swallows. “Is she dead?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Hunters killed her mother shortly after. It doesn’t matter. She wasn’t selfish or a coward. Sometimes, pain is so bad that no one can take it away, and it makes a person see only one way to escape.”

“If only you’d take it,” Severo comments.

Even with knowing Boyd is a werewolf, Chris is surprised at the speed he has Erica fully restrained in his lap with his hand covering her mouth against the growls.

“Uncalled for, mijo,” Araya carelessly says. “You won’t change my mind, but if you disagree, have your say, Allison and Christopher.”

“I don’t need them to speak for me,” Jay says. “Could I have some paper and something to write with, please?”

Giving him a questioning look, Allison leaves and soon comes back with some pen and paper.

“Thank you.” After a moment, he holds the paper up.

On it is a spiral with a line slashed through it. “My conscience is clear. I took what life was left out of a person who wasn’t a person, anymore. All these say,” his eyes turn blue, “is that a part of my grandmother literally resides within me. I’m not afraid to meet He Who Judges All.”

Araya studies the paper. “Brave words, little coyote. Tell me, is there an implication you think we should be?”

“I don’t know what your intentions were. What lies in your heart. It’s indisputable you’ve killed innocent people of supernatural origins. And that humans have died because of calls you’ve made. Maybe you’ve even wrongly sentenced innocent hunters to death. If your intent was pure, I have to believe God will be merciful. If it wasn’t, it doesn’t matter if you make everyone else believe you’re righteous, it doesn’t matter if you can convince others it was a mistake, it doesn’t matter if you can look in the mirror and be happy with seeing the person staring back, you won’t be able to escape your judgement come.”

“The hunters from earlier, they took my grandmother’s necklace. It was going to be for my daughter or granddaughter someday. My dad has family. They disowned him when he married my mom, but they’re still alive. Besides the Hayes, we had supernatural friends. If you go after them, that will be your decision, but I’m not going to be the excuse you invoke. Yours killed five innocent people I loved.”

He takes a shaky breath. “I killed a person two of those people loved. My mother died protecting a werecoyote. Her mother died because of a werecoyote. Hunters killed my family. The cycle ends with me. I’m breaking it.”

“No,” Allison says. “They are.”

Erica manages to get free, and standing, she says, “For once, I’ll fight next to Allison.”

Boyd nods.

Coming over with Tracy behind him, Theo agrees, “He’s going nowhere with you.”

A puzzled look crosses Jay’s face. “You’re like me.”

“Yes and no. Half-werecoyote, half-werewolf. Except, instead of being bitten or born, these doctors dabbing in the supernatural manipulated my DNA to make me this way.”

“Cool,” Jay says. “I mean, maybe not from a medical ethics standpoint, but it’s cool you survived and the world has such unique people in it.”

Smiling slightly, Theo adds, “This is Tracy, another one of theirs. She’s half-werewolf and half-kanima. But aside from when they made her think she was dreaming and she was running around in a fugue state, she’s never had anything close to a master.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Jay says. “But none of you need to fight for me. I place my faith in God and know it won’t be long before I’m with my family again.”

Chris speaks up. “Jay, the hospital wouldn’t have done this without consent of the patient or a court order. Or rather, they shouldn’t have. Did they have one of those?”

“My grandmother made a living will. The nurse you saw, Nurse Rhett, she knew her when she was still cognisant of her surroundings. She made it clear to her she didn’t want her shell to keep living on after everything that made her, her was gone.”

“Sweetheart, I’d like to talk to Araya privately for a moment.”

Allison nods.

“Again, Christopher-”

“Allison is the Argent leader. That doesn’t mean I can’t appeal to you directly and vice versa on certain things.”

“The coyote doesn’t leave,” she tells the hunters. “Lead the way, mijo.”

…

They go to the kitchen.

Sitting down, she gives him a small frown. “What do you think you can possibly say to save him? I know your daughter finds it easy to forgive him. She’s young and idealistic, but I’ll give her that she is consistent and obviously thinks very deeply about her beliefs. Someday, we both know, she’ll learn better. Until then, it’s best to accommodate her whenever possible.”

“This isn’t about forgiveness. Allison doesn’t condemn him. He’s done nothing she could forgive him for, because, he hasn’t personally wronged her in anyway.”

Shrugging, she says, “The law isn’t gray in this area. If he’d gotten his hands on medicine and poisoned her, if he’d picked up a pillow and smothered her, if he’d used a human weapon on her, we would agree to turn him over to the police. If a court found him not guilty, we wouldn’t be happy, but we would accept it and leave him be until he killed another. He didn’t, and our penalty for a coyote killing an innocent is death.”

“Come now,” she adds. “He’s not even pleading his innocence to us. He confesses his guilt, and he’s willing to accept the penalty.”

“Assisted suicide is illegal, too,” Chris quietly says. “You said that my wife honoured our family and you by what she did. I maintain that she would have honoured her daughter and me by living. Yet, still, I sat there on our daughter’s bed with Victoria, my wife, the mother of my child, and helped her.”

“Assuming Jay is telling the truth, and I think we both believe he is, his grandmother was a very sick woman who eventually got to a point where she’d never talk, move, be able to do anything for herself, and had no ability to even think or feel. When she was still able to think and feel and talk, she made it clear, when it came to that point, she didn’t want her body to continue being kept alive by artificial means. I don’t know how she’d feel about what her grandson did, but he did it so that he could honour her wishes without the risk of prolonged suffering being inflicted on her.”

“You know there is a difference.”

“The difference being we can break the law we use as an excuse to condemn werecoyotes, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures? I know, sometimes, it’s necessary. You seem to like Erica. Why?”

“I find her interesting. I’d do what was necessary, what is right, if her wolf eyes didn’t match her hair.”   

“It’s right to use any excuse we can find to kill, regardless of whether a person is truly a threat to innocent lives?” He rubs his eyes. “You and I have both killed. We’ll keep killing until the day we die. Unlike a thief or liar, once a person kills, they can never divorce the label of killer from themselves, even if they never kill again. It doesn’t mean they necessarily will ever kill again. This boy is willing to die as a way to protect his family and friends without resorting to violence.”

“Or perhaps, he understands what he did is wrong. Feels guilty.”

“Then, I can’t speak for you, but I certainly understand. Victoria was so strong and determined. That’s where Allison gets her ability to think critically and form a consistent moral code for herself. If I had refused to help her, I imagine she would have found the strength to do it herself. But what if she hadn’t? What if my refusal to help her had resulted in her still being here?”

“She was young, she was strong, she could have learned control and lived a full life with me and our daughter. An old woman whose mind was completely gone was going to starve to death. She was going to succumb to starvation and dehydration. For a person who isn’t essentially braindead, that is an utterly inhumane thing to subject them to. If any part of her had any cognisance, you could make the argument there was still hope and that she might have been killed against her will. Murdered. The argument could also be made that, as Jay said, he gave her a quick, likely significantly less painful death.”

“She made the choice that she wanted to be starved. Not that a supernatural creature should steal her life,” Araya counters.

Chris sighs. “I once held a gun on Kate to protect Scot McCall. That was before my whole worldview was completely shattered several times over. I found out both my sister and our father stood for everything the code condemned. My wife died, and I helped her. I saw my daughter almost destroy herself with grief. A werewolf whose almost entire family was dead because of mine bodily shielded me from harm.”

“If you insist on trying to take him, then, try. As you said, Scott and Isaac will be back soon. The young beta they dropped off could likely get here quickly. This town’s sheriff would likely take our side over yours. I know his son will. And with them all, Allison and I will fight you and every hunter in the wings. If Jun'ichi Yoshimoto ever kills in cold blood, if he ever violently attacks humans, then, we’ll help you capture him, and we’ll thank you for taking him off our hands. But until then, the cycle will be broken on both sides. You’ll leave him be, he’ll leave you be, and you and Allison will part as allies.”

She studies him for a long moment.

“You’ve always been a good soldier, Christopher. I hope Allison always knows how lucky she is to have you.”

“She does.”

Standing, she goes back into the living room with him following.

After speaking quietly in Spanish to the hunters, she goes over to Jay. Grabbing his chin, she stares into his eyes. “I’d like to say I hope we never meet again, but I know better, coyote. You think God is your only judge, and someday, that will be true. Until then, however, you live in the land of humans, and we are the judges of your kind. We’ll see each other, again, when you do something even worse, and you’ll face your judgement come.”

Letting go, she walks over to Allison. “Would you like us to take the hunters who took Erica and see why they tried framing you? Or will you handle it?”

Allison looks over.

“I’d let them, baby. They won’t kill or torture them, but they will be punished, and the Calaveras will get to the bottom of what happened and contact us when they do.”

“Please. Thank you,” Allison answers.

Araya kisses her cheek. “Be strong and true, Allison Argent. We’ll only come onto your territory when you invite or need us. So long as you protect humans and keep your code, that is. I trust the same is true with you.”

Allison nods. “I’ll stay out of Mexico unless invited or needed, as long as you protect humans and keep your code.”

Smiling, Araya motions for the hunters, and they all leave.

…

“Thank you,” Jay tells Chris. Looking over at Allison and the others, he says, “All of you.”

“Will you be okay by yourself,” Erica asks. “You could sleep in Boyd’s room, and I could make you food.”

Chris knows there’s little in the way of the betas and other supernatural creatures that’s his business. Furthermore, he really doesn’t want to know what teenage drama and shenanigans are going on with them. One thing he was always grateful for was the fact there was very little of that with Allison up until she met Scott McCall and Lydia Martin.

However, the fact Boyd gives no reaction to Erica’s invitation and will likely agree without a word if Jay says yes- He wouldn’t label whatever the relationship between them (apparently, at one point, they were dating, then, they weren’t, and he’s sure Lydia Martin will apprise him further of the situation the next time she’s over for dinner) as healthy.

“I’ll be fine. I’m nineteen, and I have some money in the bank. Now that I’m free, I can get to it. I graduated early when I was seventeen, and I was taking some community classes. I’m not going to go back to all that right now, but I can in the future, if I decide to.”

Taking out his wallet, Chris says, “Here’s enough for a motel room for tonight, some food, and if you want it, bus fare.” When Jay starts to protest, he insists, “Just take it, and pay me back by staying out of trouble.”

…

One of the twins sits down, and repressing a groan, Erica hopes Boyd and Isaac are done with Isaac’s homework soon.

After refusing to let hunters take them, she- can’t keep trying to kill them anymore.

“Starting to regret it already?”

“I regretted it the second I said it.”

Chuckling, he takes a breath. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t do it for you or your brother. Don’t ask me why I did. I- this might be easier if I knew.”

“I know,” he says. “Boyd didn’t break up with you because he couldn’t trust you. He broke up with you, because, you couldn’t trust him.”

“I was trying to protect him.”

“Neither of you will ever win in an argument of which one gets to protect the other and which one doesn’t.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course, it does,” he says. “He’ll always trust you. What you did doesn’t matter. The next time a big situation comes around, just be honest and prove him right. That’s what he’d expect. And you’ll always trust him. So, trust that he trusts you. Relationships without trust are doomed to fail, right? Once two people get that part down, the rest should be easier.”

“Tell me, are you the one drooling over Lydia, who doesn’t want you for more than an occasional round of sex, due to you being a murderous alpha, or are you the one dating a human boy who doesn’t know about any of this?”

“It doesn’t matter. I guess that’s one way you can always feel better about yourself over us. My brother and I both know neither of us is going to ever find someone permanent. We’re stuck with each other.”

…

When Corey gets back from the bathroom, Mason hugs him. “Ready to get out of here?”

Corey steps back. “Yeah. Look- I have somewhere I need to be. See you around, okay?”

Confused and hurt, Mason can’t help but ask, “What? Where?”

Shaking his head, Corey starts to walk away, and Mason grabs his hand. “Hey. I just got you back.”

He understands why Corey had to leave, but this can’t happen again. He can be really annoying when he wants to, and if he has to bribe Liam into helping him somehow trap Theo, Allison, and Scott in a room together, there’s going to be a better understanding between the three, even if this understanding has a basis in ‘let’s ignore the fact Mason is human and kill him’.

He’s sure he can somehow manage to come out of it alive.

If he has to get _everyone_ locked in a room, he will.

No matter what, he’s going to do a better job of protecting Corey.

“You never had me. Or- I never had you. All this, it really drove it home. The fact you were right. You once said that you didn’t trust me. And I was fine with that, I thought I could change it, but I’m always going to be a chimera who came back from being dead. Besides that, I’ve realised I don’t exactly trust you, either. You’re-” Corey sighs. “I think you like the supernatural part more than you like most of the people for themselves. Liam’s the biggest exception to that, and he really doesn’t like me.”

Mason knows he needs to fix things, first, and then, he can properly kick himself over making it where he had to.

Playing with a strand of hair falling on Corey’s forehead, he says, “Come with me. You won’t regret it.”

…

Thankful his mom decided to change his sheets despite her hundredth declaration he could get bedbugs or worse if he didn’t start changing them on schedule, and she definitely wasn’t going to do it anymore, Mason watches Corey closely.   

The sheets with alchemy symbols on them are safely in the laundry hamper, but he still has three bookshelves in his room, the alphabet on one of his walls, and a glow-in-the-dark solar system on his ceiling. The only TV in the house is in the living room, and he has an old fashioned alarm clock radio next to his bed.

He knows Corey has known since they first met he was on the geeky side of things, but no one but Liam has ever witnessed first-hand how much this extends to all areas of his life.

“Sleep with me tonight. Just sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

Corey looks at him. “Why?”

There’s a good chance Corey is trying to come across as causal, but Mason can see by the look in his eyes and the way he’s holding himself, he’s anything but inside.

Moving over, Mason takes his hand. “Because, it’s something I’ve wanted for a long time. And I thought I’d never get it, but you’re back here, safe, and it’s time I stopped making excuses for not having it. Having you. Letting you have me.”

When the kiss breaks, Corey agrees, “Okay.”

He feels everything inside him starting to settle. “Which side of the bed do you usually sleep on? I usually sleep on the right, but when me and Liam were little and had sleepovers, I slept on the left.”

“I usually sleep in the middle.”

“Okay. That works. Uh, I’m not sure about pyjamas. We’re not the same size, but-”

Corey trails his fingers over Mason’s neck. “I usually sleep in my underwear. Just sleep, I know. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried,” he says. “A little nervous, maybe,” he confesses. “You’re the only boy- well, aside from Liam, but he doesn’t count. I’ve never even had friends in my room. Again, besides- Boy or girl either.”

Finally, a smile appears.

…

After they brush their teeth and Mason changes into his pyjamas, he gets into bed, and Corey follows.

“I think I’m a deep sleeper. My parents can never wake me up without setting my alarm to go off. I don’t know if I talk or move around in my sleep.”

He suddenly thinks of Lucas. Corey had been fine with hearing about the kiss, but other than confessing that, Mason’s never brought him up once he and Corey got together. He knows Lucas and Corey never did more than kiss, but he doesn’t know if something like this was included, too.

“I don’t know how I am, either. Guess it’s time to find out,” Corey says.

Mason relaxes.

Corey puts an arm over him, and the thought _I want to spend the rest of my life with him_ crosses his mind.

He knows they’re two sophomores, and he knows even really good relationships sometimes don’t end up working, but right now, he’s just going to let himself imagine.

Corey kisses him, and he returns it.

“Goodnight, Mason.”

“Night, Corey.”

…

Mason has several potential plans on how to break things to Liam, but when they sit down at a picnic table before class starts, Liam wrinkles his nose. “Really, dude?”

Oh, right, he thinks.

His best friend is a werewolf, and even with the shower he took before school- “We just slept together last night. I mean, sleeping is all that was done.”

Liam elects not to respond.

Taking a breath, Mason says, “We’re boyfriends. And look, I get it, for whatever reason even beyond him being a chimera, you’ve never cared for him, but, Liam, I have an actual boyfriend. And that’s so awesome. I’m not going to try to force you to spend time with him outside of school where, sometimes, it’ll be the three us, but you’ve always known that, once I got a boyfriend, I’d get all excited and tell you all about certain things involving him. I need you to, at least, be happy that I’m happy.”

Huffing, Liam nods. Then, he squeezes Mason's wrist. “Just know that, if he hurts you, I will literally kill him.”

Mason smiles. “Thanks.”

…

Lydia is not happy with Allison.

She’s made it clear: When she says to keep a werecoyote at Scott’s house until she calls, she means Allison is expected to tell the werecoyote several people had to almost come to arms to defend from being taken that his freedom actually hadn’t been granted yet, and he will just sit down and wait for a high school student to authorise his release, and the truthful excuse, ‘I forgot due to having to make sure none of our classmates were taken by hunters, and it was actually a rather stressful situation I was scared out of my mind during various parts of,’ is not acceptable.

Yawning, Allison opens her locker and finds herself staring at a thick envelope.

Lydia and Isaac are the only ones who consistently leave and take things from her locker, but she has no idea if someone else has gotten the combination, too. For all he used to help Erica come up with plans for poisoning food and attacking the twins at their apartment, Boyd’s more the type to just straight up put his claws to someone’s neck.

Erica would leave something dangerous or just plain disgusting in someone’s locker, but Erica is literally part of the reason the school has never gotten lockers with built-in combination locks. Jackson and Lydia told her about how, before their freshman year, there were plans to replace the current ones with them, but the Reyes’ along with several other families brought their kids to school along with a lockbox containing a built-in combination lock, and one-by-one, almost every kid showed they genuinely couldn’t get the lock open, despite knowing and applying the correct combination.    

After Derek bit the three, Allison had reset her manual combination lock with a longer combination. It gives her less time between classes, but she’d been going by the theory any of the three would have to literally break the lock to get in.

Bracing herself, she opens the envelope and finds a note wrapped around a large number of hundred dollar bills.

_For your tires. I’ll pay the rest back when I can._

_Boyd._

She puts the envelope in her purse, considers finding Boyd, and then, decides Isaac might be the better choice.

…

Coming over to her table, Isaac slides over his peanut butter cup and takes her bag of skittles. “Hey, uh, did you get Boyd’s- I put something from him in your locker.”

Lydia looks up from her lunch. “What exactly from him did you put in her locker?”

“Nothing bad,” she assures her.

Based on Isaac’s expression, he knows what was in the envelope.

“We’ll be back in a minute,” she says.

They go over to a corner. “I’m not sure there’s a delicate way to ask this. I know he didn’t steal it, but where did Boyd get that kind of money?”

Isaac shrugs. “I didn’t ask. How, uh, how much exactly did your tires cost?”

“They were military grade. About a thousand grand each.”

Shaking his head, he comments, “Even without knowing that, I probably would have had the sense to just ruin one. Two at most, in case you had a spare. Would have achieved the same thing.”

He walks away.

…

After school, she sees Erica and Boyd waiting for the bus.

Going over, she stops when she hears, “You know I don’t care about dates. I just don’t see why you have to take on all these extra shifts. Out of everything, I’m pretty sure Allison cares the least about her tires. She already had new ones today.”

Allison starts to move over and speak, but Boyd says, “It doesn’t matter whether she cares. I shouldn’t have slashed her tires.”

“Can’t you just chalk this up to an apology and promise to never do it again,” is Erica’s cross response.

Boyd shakes his head. “She’s right that I’m not sorry for anything I did. And what I did in the lab, I don’t care about trying to make right. But- this sort of comes back to my mom. If you take something that doesn’t belong to you, if you break something of someone else’s, you have to pay the person back.”

Almost too quietly to hear, he adds, “I thought she took you. I thought she was going to kill you. I was wrong, but what I did wasn’t. I’d try to take away everything important, including their own life, of anyone who ever-” He trails off.

Erica kisses him. “I still hate the fact it’s your college fund, though.”

“College doesn’t have an age limit.”

“Yeah,” Erica agrees. “Just remember, we’re visiting Grandma Juanita for two weeks this summer. You’re not placing Allison Argent’s overpriced tires over that.”

“Me not coming back should-”

“Grandma Juanita isn’t going to kill you! Never mind the fact she couldn’t, she wouldn’t even if she could.”

“As if I’d ever hurt your grandmother.”

“Once she gets to know you-”

“I’m the black boy you ran away from home with for almost four months.”

“Mi abuela’s brown.”

Something about Boyd’s stance and tone tells Allison he doesn’t consider this to actually counter his point but has made the decision to simply drop said point. “And you’re her beautiful angelita who ran away with the boy with a drunk dad, no-”

“Again, not focusing on the fact you can’t get drunk, you’re nothing like your dad, Boyd.”

Realising she’s already heard too much more than she should have of this conversation, Allison quietly slips away.

…     

A few days after everything settles, Erica finds Corey in the library glaring at an astrophysics textbook.

“I don’t think I can pronounce half the words in the title,” she comments.

Jumping, he looks at her. “You can see me? I’m not invisible right now, am I?”

“No,” she slowly answers. “Do you make it a habit to be invisible in the school library? During the day?”

“I used to. When I was trying to be near Mason without him knowing. Not that that ever really worked.”

“I really can’t judge,” she realises aloud.

Smiling tentatively, he says, “It- it wasn’t like that. Usually, if I was alone, and a werewolf suddenly came, I’d just turn invisible and try to be really still. Hope they didn’t smell me or hear my heartbeat. With him, I’d find him, want to talk to him, and then, realise I didn’t know how to. But we’re boyfriends, now, and somehow, that makes it so much easier.”

“I get that,” she says. “What kind of desserts are your favourite? I want to thank you properly for telling the others what happened to me.”

“That didn’t work out so well.”

“Not at first, but once everyone got more-or-less on the same page, well, I’m here, now, and not in some room pissing myself from the seizures or, worse, dead. You could have just pulled Theo aside, told him, and left. But you asked Allison to let me go. That was really brave.”

Smiling fully, he says, “You don’t need to-”

“It’s how I operate. I give people delicious teeth-rotting food. Or I give them whatever kind of food they like best.”

“I like most things with coconuts. Mason can’t stand them, though. He’s big on almonds.”

She laughs at the face he makes.

“Could you maybe do me a favour?"

“Sure. What is it?”

He pushes the book over. “Could you turn this in? Theo’s busy studying for an algebra test, and Tracy isn’t allowed to return books.” He pauses. “That sounds bad, but it’s really not. We don’t need her paralysing Miss Campbell and forcing her to listen to rap music and Barney on repeat.”

“What’s she got against Miss Campbell?”

He shrugs. “She’s hated her since junior high.”

“No problem.” Leaning over, she kisses his cheek. “I’ll bring something for you and some almond cake for Mason next week.”

…

Allison thinks Erica and Boyd look adorable together, and she’s happy they seem to be happy and not currently plotting any murder attempts, but she knows even she and Scott didn’t spend as much time together as they do.

Almost a week after Erica being kidnapped, she finally finds Boyd alone. “Hey, could I talk to you?”

Motioning for her to sit down, he continues highlighting his notes.

Setting the envelope down, she says, “Besides hunting, my dad has this consulting business. He restarted it last year. It’s going pretty well, but he needs some help around the office. Unpaid labour beats all the hassle of advertising, sorting through applicants, and the whole hiring process.”

He gives an incredulous look. “A werewolf working for a hunter, around other hunters. Keep the money, or don’t. I’m not risking my life and my girlfriend’s life to make up for what I did to your tires.”

“Can I ask you something, Boyd?”

Shrugging, he goes back to his notes.

“I understand, after what I did, why you don’t trust me. To be honest, I expected you to be angry, just like Erica. But you weren’t. When I was shooting you, you were resolute. After you got out from the vault, you tried to kill the alphas, but it always seemed Erica was leading that. The first time I truly saw you angry was after Erica kissed Aiden. The second time was when you thought I kidnapped Erica.”

“Both times, I understand why you would be. I’m just wondering: Are you angry? I mean, do you keep your anger deeply under control most times, or were those rare times you were?”

“When I was little, I learned that anger rarely got me anywhere or anything,” he says. “After that, it was easy for me to stop myself from reacting. Derek’s mantra’s never been much help to me, because, I already had my own. Why am I feeling this way? What would make me feel better? Can and should I do what would make me feel better?”

“Sometimes, I’d realise how illogical my feelings were, and that would be enough. Sometimes, I could do what I needed to make myself feel better. When I couldn’t, I’d weigh whether lashing out was really something I should do or not. Sometimes, angry does get the results a person’s hoping for. If I was forced to admit that it wouldn’t, then, the anger didn’t just disappear, but I found it easier to keep it under control until it lessened. Eventually, it always went away. When it left resentment-” A bitter smile crosses his face. “Resentment’s always been a part of my life. Of who I am.”

“I’m not angry right now,” he concludes.

“Then, can you and I talk about what happened? We’ve both hurt one another. I’m not expecting an apology from you, but would you accept one from me?”

“What would be the point? I don’t care why you decided to hunt us down. I know that you shot those arrows to weaken and capture us. You know that what I did was, because, I believed you hurt and were going to kill Erica.” He gives her a considering look. “If you’ve ever wondered why I just let you shoot me, your dad had a gun. I knew there were other hunters around the forest. My best bet and Erica’s at surviving was to give no justification for turning hunt to capture into hunt to kill.”

She decides to take a chance. “I think you might be one of the few people who can truly understand. My dad doesn’t. Scott doesn’t. Or Lydia. I don’t think any of them do, honestly. Gerard might, but he’s not like either of us. When my mother killed herself and I thought Derek was responsible- when I thought he was the one who bit her, I knew that the only way to get my dad to agree with what I wanted was to spin it as: Capture the betas, and we’d lure Derek to us.”

Fear and a swirl of other emotions make her almost feel as if she’s been paralysed again, and she knows she can stop here.

Taking a deep breath, she presses on. “I was going to kill you both. Derek took my mother. I’ve never really understood about pack. Stiles once told me that Derek said something about losing a pack member being like losing a limb. I didn’t know that, then. But I knew he cared about you and Erica. I was going to take everything, everyone, important to him away, like he took my mother, before I killed him.”

He looks up fully, and they truly look at one another’s eyes.

He does understand, she sees, and he sees she does.

“That helps,” he quietly says. “It probably shouldn’t, knowing you intended to kill us, but it does.”

She nods. “Boyd, I don’t want your money. My dad really could use the help. I don’t expect you to forgive or trust me, but if there’s any hope for real peace between innocent supernatural people and hunters, it has to start somewhere, doesn’t it? My dad and I are trying. I can understand all the werewolves and others who choose to just keep their head down, but we both know Erica wants to do something. And we both know, you do have some influence in what and how she chooses to do things.”

“When would be a good time to talk to your dad?” Quickly, he adds, “I’m not saying yes. I’m saying, I’ll talk to him about the possibility.”

…

Sheriff Stilinski comes back from processing, sees Parrish working at his desk, and suddenly realises, _Oh, crap, I never talked to him after I got Theo and the others._

Or rather, they’ve had several normal conversations, but it’s been over a week, and he hasn’t thought to see what Parrish thinks about all that happened, and Parrish hasn’t tried bringing it up.

There was a time he was on top of everything. Now, he’d give anything just to be on top of one aspect of his life.

…

“Parrish.”

Looking up, Parrish’s good mood quickly fades. The sheriff’s expression is the one that says he’s about to have a conversation he doesn’t want to have, and Parrish frantically tries to think of what he might have done wrong.

“Sir?”

Sitting down, the sheriff looks around. “You and I haven’t talked about the case of last week’s three runaways.”

Nodding, Parrish waits.

“So, uh, I’m wondering, do you have any questions?”

The answer is: He has _many_ questions.

He’d watched the sheriff stop the vehicle, and Tracy Stewart and Corey Bryant had gotten out of the car. They’d had one of those dog breeds that looked like a wolf with them and no Theo.

At the time, he’d just assumed one of them owned the dog and that Theo hadn’t come with them. It wasn’t the sheriff’s fault he’d been operating under misinformation, and he hoped it’d be easy to find out where Theo was.

Then, however, the two kids and the dog walked into the station with Tracy carrying folded clothes and a pair of shoes. She and the dog had gone into a supply closet, closed the door, and then, a minute or two later, she and Theo Raeken had walked out. He’d been wearing the clothes and shoes she was carrying, and there was no dog in sight.

He’d never believed in people being able to shapeshift into animals before, but aside from him being crazy, he truly has no idea what other possibilities there might be.     

After all this, he’d gone into the file room and accessed all the records he had permission to view on his computer.

Tracy was once a murder suspect. She was accused of attacking Lydia Martin in the station. She disappeared for a stretch of time a few months ago. Her parents are both dead, social services has a her labelled as an emancipated minor, but he can’t find the paperwork supporting this, and he hasn’t been able to find out where exactly she’s currently living.

Hopefully, it’s not in a car or, worse, actually outside. There aren’t any shelters in Beacon Hills, and from what he can tell, she doesn’t have a job. Hopefully, a friend has an extra bed or a couch she’s crashing on.

Corey Bryant was legally declared dead a few months ago, and he went missing for a stretch of time, too.

There used to be another deputy working here, a Deputy Clarke, and she had a little sister who also went missing, and then, led officers to a tree stump containing dead bodies, and the case of what made those people dead is still open.

Further research had shown all sorts of interesting things about several other kids, including Stiles’s best friend, Scott McCall.      

Studying the sheriff’s face, he realises he’s seeing resignation. He’s not entirely sure what the sheriff is expecting him to ask, but the sheriff is already dreading it.

Better be careful, then, he knows. He might only have one question, and he doesn’t expect the sheriff to lay out exactly what in the hell is going on, but whatever he asks, he’d like it to be something the sheriff answers honestly.

“I know that some of those kids are different, sir. More. I don’t know what that entails. Three of them were in danger last week. I’m assuming all of the ones who are more are always at a higher risk than the everyday citizen. But are any of them dangerous, Sheriff Stilinski?”

The sheriff lets out a heavy sound, and Parrish wants to-

No, he’s not going down that road.

“In a way,” the sheriff answers. “Some of them, regardless of their physical abilities, they couldn’t hurt anyone. It’s just not in them. And some of them, given the right circumstances, they could be more dangerous than the average armed citizen and any of us. There might come a time, oh, hell, I don’t know. Last week, all of them were in danger. In addition to protecting them, thankfully, everything was handled so that the ones who could have been dangerous back weren’t.”

Parrish nods. “I might in the future, but right now, I don’t need to know more, sheriff.” He hesitates for a brief second. “Is your son something more?”

He knew about some of the things Stiles Stilinski had done even before he got to town, but he’d never thought Stiles being friends with a kid who can change into a dog and kids who can possibly do other things might have been propelling such stunts. Honestly, he’d assumed Stiles was just an above-average intelligent kid with ADHD and impulse control issues who lost his mom at a young age and possibly had a crush on a shady man named Derek Hale, and Parrish wouldn’t be surprised or judgemental if Hale leaving town had been due to Sheriff Stilinski technically abusing his authority in certain ways to make it clear Hale could willingly leave or else… 

Surprisingly but pleasantly, this causes a laugh. “No. But he might just be more dangerous than all of them combined when it comes to anyone who’s threatening some of the ones who are.”

“Yeah, I can believe that,” Parrish says.

The sheriff clasps his shoulder. “Thank you, deputy.”

“No problem, sheriff.”

…

Sitting down at the park table, Erica says, “Thank you for agreeing to meet.”

Tracy nods. “Why’d you want to?”

Unwrapping the Tapioca pudding, Erica says, “To give you this. As a-” Taking a bite, she only just manages not to spit it out. “Look, this isn’t poisoned, and I didn’t otherwise tamper with it, but I can’t guarantee it’s any good. God, I forgot how much I hated Tapioca, but since it’s the one thing you always had on your birthdays-”

Pushing it forward, she continues, “I’ll understand if you throw it away. Even with not liking it, I’m pretty sure it isn’t supposed to taste _that_ bad. Still, it’s a combination of a peace offering and apology. I shouldn’t have tried to kill Theo with Lydia’s book. I don’t want any trouble from you or him.”

Taking the spoon, Tracy takes a small bite and smiles. “It’s delicious. Thank you.”

“Glad you like it.”

“Even if Theo hadn’t caught the book, it wouldn’t have hurt him. I was just making sure you didn’t do worse. He wants peace between all of us. As long as you don’t hurt him or Corey, I don’t have any problems with you.”

“You two make a cute couple,” Erica says.

Tracy shakes her head. “We’re not.”

“Oh. I- wow, I was wrong on that one.”

Tracy skims her hands over the table. “I’d give him whatever he wanted, and if he ever had to, he’d give me what I want. But he doesn’t want me.” Looking up, she says, “I probably shouldn’t- be careful how you deal with Theo. He’s good at getting what he wants.”

“What does he want?”

“To have red eyes. To be able to change people. To have more than just me and Corey. He, um, he thinks the Dread Doctors took personality into account when deciding how to manipulate people with chimera DNA. That makes sense. In a lot of ways, I’m just like Jackson. I’ve always done what I was supposed to. What the people in charge said I needed to. For all he was an asshole, that was him, too. And we both became kanimas.”

“I’m just warning you, because, you have a bond with Derek Hale. If he ever comes back, I’m not sure what exactly Theo might do. Whatever it is, though, I’d be standing with him.”

“Even though he’s quasi-manipulating you?”

Tracy shrugs. “He’s not, really. I’m his first. In more ways than one. I was the first person he brought back to life. He trusts me more than he trusts the others. Admittedly, that would be more impressive if the other two were around, but I trust him, too, more than I probably should. He brought me back to life, he’s helped me be strong, and he generally knows what he’s doing. He looks out for us, and we look out for him.”

Wistfully, she adds, “You’re lucky you have Boyd. He wants you more than anything.”

“I’m sorry Theo doesn’t see how lucky he’d be to have a girlfriend like you.”

“For all I’m a follower, I’ve never been second best. I don’t intend to ever be. If he gave me certain things, took them from me, without feeling the same way I do, I think I might hate him.” Standing, she picks up the pudding. “Take care, Erica.”

“You, too.”

…

Boyd is a hard worker, and though taciturn, he doesn’t give the impression he resents being here or doing any of the work.

“That’s enough for today,” Chris says. “Is your mother picking you up?”

“Erica and I are going out tonight.”

Allison sticks her head in. Despite Chris and Boyd both assuring her she didn’t need to stick around for his first day, she’s been silently popping in to check on them at random intervals. “Better work on your tone before she does.”

Boyd nods. “Did you ever pay for your dates with Scott?”

“Sometimes. We didn’t tend to do many things that required money. I think it’s sweet she wants to treat you on your first day.”

Chris hadn’t even been aware there was anything in Boyd’s tone. It sounded the same as the normal tone he’s been using all day.

They go outside, and Chris has a sinking feeling when he sees Erica has arrived and is toting around bags and covered dishes of various desserts.

“I made sure to bring the ingredients lists,” she says. “The other people are inside?”

“Boyd, when I said Erica could stop by, I meant she could be here when you arrived and left. Erica, I’m sorry, but-”

 She gives Boyd a dirty look. “One of the non-sucky things about you having this job was supposed to be my new focus group. You promised me more guinea pigs, Boyd!”

She doesn’t stamp her foot, but it’s a close thing.

Picking up a cookie, Allison says, “Dad, I’m sure there some of them would love-”

Looking over, Erica does a double-take, and at Erica's hand wrapping around Allison’s wrist, he has his on his gun.

“No, not that one. Drop it." She slaps at Allison's hand, and putting himself in front of Erica, Boyd has somehow produced wipies. Erica wipes Allison’s now empty hands before letting go and shoving several papers at her. “You always read the ingredients. I-” Erica retakes the papers, skims through, and exhales. “Yeah, I got all the ingredients posted. Those have raisins in them.”

Chris takes his hand off the gun. Allison isn’t exactly allergic to raisins, and she has no problem at all with grapes, but raisins have always caused unpleasant digestive issues. Victoria always insisted otherwise, but he’s pretty sure Allison got it from her side of the family.

“But they’re peanut butter.”

“And raisins. It’s a new recipe.”

Rubbing his head, Chris asks, “Where do you even get the ingredients for all the food you make? How do your parents afford it?”

“One of my uncles, well, technically, he’s a cousin, but I call him uncle, is a priest in a nearby town. He does food drives, and there are a lot of regulations about what can and can’t be given to shelters when it comes to perishables. There’s nothing wrong with the food, but it isn’t shaped right, or the colour’s off, or it wouldn’t be ready to be served until after it’s sell-by date. So, he has it express delivered to me.”

“Good to know.”

“Raisins aren’t perishable,” Allison mutters through a mouthful of some bread-like sweet. 

The decision about how to handle this is taken out of his hands when one of the men working for him comes out, sees them, and walks over. “It isn’t someone’s party, is it?”

“No, this is Boyd’s girlfriend, Erica,” Allison answers.

“I’m going to be a baker, and I was promised guinea pigs.”

The man laughs. “I think we can accommodate you. Come on in. Do you have raisin bread?”

“She was too busy putting the raisins where they definitely don’t belong,” is Allison’s dark reply, and Chris is amazed by the realisation she’s truly offended over the whole thing.

Erica rolls her eyes. “I’ll bring some peanut butter cookies without raisins next week, okay? Promise. Oh, uh, here, I made a list of all the ingredients, and everything’s colour-coded and numbered, too.”

Chris knows he should have registered this fact.

“Great. My buddy loves anything with raisins. Unfortunately, I’m diabetic.”

“If you don’t mind me asking…”

Stepping back, Chris watches men and women, some hunters, some civilians, come over to get the free food, and he doesn’t know if it was her intention or not, but Erica’s just put the spotlight on Boyd in a good way. This is the sort of thing Victoria did when they were younger.

He listens to the discussion about medications and diets, and it hits him: These two kids have been shot at, kidnapped multiple times, and tortured. These facts more than the fact they aren’t human are what might cause them to have trouble with normality, but here they are, handling normal interactions without a problem.

He’s glad, but the fact he’s played a part in denying them and others the right to such things- He can never fully make up for it. Hopefully, if Allison ever has children, they’ll grow up able to protect themselves and others without ever dehumanising people who aren’t technically human. 

“I used to be epileptic.”

“I hope the remission sticks.”

A brief expression crosses Erica’s face, and if Chris had to guess, she’s fully realising she and Boyd are in a room with hunters, and they wouldn’t consider the fact she’s healthy a good thing if they knew what the cure was.

There was a time he would’ve thought the same.

“Thank you,” she says. “I hope they find a cure for diabetes and epilepsy both, soon. Everyone deserves that.”

…

When Boyd starts to talk to several of the others, Erica pulls Allison aside. “I was talking to Tracy earlier, and Stiles might be right about Theo. He’s not hurting her or Corey, but she pretty much admitted he can be manipulative and has his own agenda.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Allison says.

“No problem.”   

“How- how are you holding up since you got back?”

“I’m doing okay. I was unconscious for most of it this time. You?”

“Wasn’t the first time I’d been paralysed or restrained.” She takes a breath. “If Theo is up to something-”

“If things get serious bad, Boyd and I are revisiting our plan of running. It didn’t work great last time, but this time we’ll know to stay out of the woods. Otherwise, though-” Erica considers her words. “We won’t work with Scott. What he did to Derek was terrible. We might work with you, though. You did save us from the moon rage when we got out of the vault, your dad saved me and Jay, and you stood up to hunters who wanted to take us all away. So, no promises, but we might be able to help each other. Let’s just really hope that Theo being manipulative doesn’t mean he actually has some grand master plan.”

“Sounds good to me,” Allison agrees.

…

In a rundown motel room at the outskirts of town, Theo shifts back to human and wraps a towel around himself. “The Calaveras finally caught the last of the freelancers and have all left town.”

Glaring with icy eyes, Victoria Argent says, “If only my daughter had let them take you.”

“Do you really think I don’t have backup plans involving such things?”

“I’m sure you do. The day I’m caught, however, is the day it becomes open season on you for me.”

“Fair,” he says. “We both know that day will come. You aren’t as unassailable as you once were, but even you have your limits. I’m just wondering if you’ll call yourself in or if you’ll try to leave town, knowing full well that it won’t be long before I do.”

Smirking, he half-scoffs. “I’m sure your husband loved your pretty blue human eyes, but never mind you faking your death, what do you think his reaction will be to your wolf eyes being the same colour? Especially when there’s proof that you undeniably got them by killing humans? Not innocent, no, but defenceless against you.”

She stays quiet.

“It didn’t have to be this way. I’ve helped you.”

“You’ve helped yourself.”

“You’ve benefited. I kept those freelancers off you. Made sure Chris and Allison would never listen to a word they said, by giving them a new target and making sure they were caught.”

“If I ever find out you were the ones who brought them here in the first place,” she warns.

He shrugs. “And don’t forget, whether Chris Argent is married or not doesn’t affect me one way or another, but you wanted to make sure that, if he ever decided to remarry, you being alive wouldn’t ever come back to bite him legally. I helped you make sure your marriage was dissolved without him ever knowing or suspecting a thing.”

“You knew how much that hurt,” is her crisp reply.

“Yeah, I did. And whether you believe it or not, that’s the reason I kept trying to get you to reconsider.”

Rubbing her temples, she demands, “Why are you here?”

“You do know that you don’t actually get headaches, anymore, don’t you?”

“It’s either this or wrapping my hands around your neck."

“Well, anyway, if you want to leave town for a quick detour, I won’t turn you in. See, I have another attempt at- being nice, you might say. I have information about the one who almost destroyed your daughter.”

“Gerard?”

He nods.

…

Jay is walking through the woods in the dusky evening light when two figures land in front of him.

“It’s okay,” one of them says. “We won’t hurt you. I’m Brett, and this is my sister, Lori.”

They both flash yellow eyes at him.

He nods.

Smiling shyly at him, Lori moves a little closer. “You’re a coyote! That’s what’s different about you.”

Returning the smile, he kneels down and bares his neck.

Lori looks at Brett, and watching Jay closely, Brett makes an affirmative motion.

Coming over, Lori sniffs Jay’s neck and briefly rubs her nose against it. Leaning back, she shifts.

He shakes his head.

“We’re werewolves. We’ve never met a werecoyote before,” Brett says. “Or not a full one at any rate. We do know a werecoywolf, but uh, there’s a crazy story to him.”

“I can’t do a full shift.”

Brett shrugs. “Neither can most werewolves. Have you ever heard of Satomi Ito? She’s our alpha.” At Jay’s headshake, he continues, “I know werecoyotes don’t exactly have packs, but do you have family or friends around here? They might know her.”

“It’s just me,” Jay answers.

“In that case, want to come over for dinner?”

“We’re having spaghetti with soy balls,” Lori earnestly adds.

“No, thank you.”

“Our pack mantra is: Three things cannot long be hidden. The sun, the moon, and the truth. Come have dinner with us. We won’t hurt you. Maybe you can stay the night. Lori and I share a room, but she can sleep with me, and you can take her bed. It’s bigger.”

Lori squeezes Jay’s hand.

Pulling it away, he sighs, and his eyes turn blue.

“Impressive, but not really the shock you seemed to be going for,” Brett says. “Satomi had blue eyes before she became an alpha. You aren’t going to hurt us.” He holds out his hand with his palm up. “And you can leave whenever you want. Come meet her, and eat with us.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Jay links his fingers through Brett’s, and as they start walking with their hands clasped together, Lori jumps on Brett’s back and wraps around him.

…

“Girls-” Chris pauses in Allison’s doorway.

Among the numerous books and papers covering the bed and area surrounding it, he sees Allison and Lydia have changed into their nightclothes and are both asleep.

Smiling, he gathers the books and papers, and hoping he isn’t going to get a lecture from Lydia in the morning (he likely is, he knows), sets them on Allison’s desk. He gets Allison underneath the sheets, and then, Lydia. Kissing Allison’s cheek, he whispers, “I love you, sweetheart.”

Turning off the lights, he closes the door behind him.

…

Erica crawls in through Boyd’s window, and picking up the shirt on his nightstand, Boyd slips it on.

After she undresses, she slides into bed, and they share a soft kiss. “I love you,” she says.

He pulls her closer against him. “I love you, too.”  

Soon, nothing but their soft breathing and snores fills the room.

…

Sitting on her bed in a nightgown, Tracy reads.

Giving a quiet bark, Theo jumps onto the bed.

She sets her book on her nightstand, and he checks the water bowl on his.

Turning off the lights, Tracy lies down and wraps her arms around Theo, and he snuggles closer against her.

…

In Mason’s room with the door blocked by a chair, Corey has an arm over Mason’s bare chest as they sleep.

…

In the woods, sitting on the nemeton, Deaton looks up at the stars. “I wish this town could always be so peaceful. Yet, unfortunately, something wicked this way comes.”

“Hmm,” is his companion’s only response.   


End file.
